Rio Olympics to feature 13 morning session athletics finals

Paris, Dec 16 (IANS)

A total of 13 finals will take place in morning sessions at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said. Among the morning session finals, there are five road events - the men's and women's marathons, the men's 50-km race walk and the men's and women's 20-km race walk events, although both 20-km race walks are scheduled to take place in the early afternoon.

The other morning session finals are the women's 10,000 metres, the men's and women's discus, the men's triple jump, the men's and women's 3,000m steeplechase, the men's 400m hurdles and the women's hammer.

The decision, approved during an IAAF Council meeting in Monte Carlo last month, means the Olympic Games will feature finals during the morning sessions of the athletics programme for the first time since Seoul 1988.

"Staging finals in the morning was done at the request of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and the Olympic Broadcasting Service, supported by the International Olympic Committee," IAAF competitions director Paul Hardy said.

"Having finals in the morning will also ensure that we receive maximum visibility for athletics at the Olympic Games across all time zones."

The athletics showpiece event, the men's 100m final, is scheduled for the evening session Sunday, August 14, with the women's version taking place the evening before.

The 10 days of athletics competition will be held August 12-21.