The Rio 2016 summer Olympic Games will feature athletics finals during morning sessions following a request by the local organising committee and Olympic Broadcasting Services, which serves as host broadcaster for all editions of the Games, to the IAAF, the global governing body of athletics.
The IAAF has not yet confirmed the full competition programme, but has already announced that the first morning final will be the women’s 10,000m on the opening day.
There will be 13 finals in the mornings, which will include five road events and eight events in the stadium.
IAAF competitions director Paul Hardy said that the move would “ensure that we receive maximum visibility for athletics at the Olympics across all time zones.”
It will be the first time since the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea that the athletics finals at the Games will be staged the morning.