By Kyle Merber
April 9, 2026
How much would you pay to be in the Coliseum when an American breaks the world record to win Olympic gold? Well, it’s going to cost you more than that! With the opening of the presale ticket portal, running fans have now received a harsh reality check, assuming they don’t have triathlon fan money.
The price to attend the afternoon session on July 16th will range from $104 to $2,460, but you’ve likely got better odds of finishing in the top three at the Trials than landing one of the small handful of seats at the lower price point. With five million people registering for a chance to buy the first batch of tickets, there is no shortage of demand, which is a rare thing in track and field.
Now this suggestion is likely too late to be implemented in 2028, but because this newsletter likes to operate in the theoretical, let’s make some suggestions that Brisbane could consider…
The Olympics are a spectacle – more than any one sport within the scope of the Games. You may not care about the teams playing, or even football at all, but you’d probably take tickets to the Super Bowl if offered. Everyone wants to go to stuff like this, to the detriment of actual fans.
The teams of the English Premier League have elaborate membership and loyalty programs to distribute tickets. No matter how often an American wakes up early to watch matches at 11th Street Bar Hall, they’re going to have to pay an arm and a leg to attend a Liverpool game in person. If you take the loyalty route, membership starts at $36. Then if a fan has 13+ matches from the previous season on their account, they’ll get tickets! If a new Liverpool fan hasn’t proven their loyalty, then they will walk alone… right into the lottery.
In Ireland, the most sought-after ticket aside from Kneecap is the GAA All-Ireland final, and yet there is never a public sale to get one. Since the not-for-profit organization is technically an amateur sport run by volunteers to oversee all aspects from the youth level on up, they leverage this demand to encourage fans to stay involved throughout the year. Tickets are distributed two ways: the first is by being a season ticket holder for the competing teams, which requires attending (and paying for) at least five matches.
The other route is the distribution through the local clubs. Regardless of which county makes the final, all clubs get tickets and offer them to those who have volunteered and stayed involved in the sport.
Do you see where this is going?
With some advance planning, it would be possible – maybe downright easy – for a host nation to use the Olympics to boost fan interest in niche sports over the months and years leading up to the event by rewarding those who make an effort. In our case, USATF could have pioneered a New York City Marathon-like “9+1” program that would make tickets for the 2028 Games available first and most affordably to the most dedicated fans. Imagine the boost the new USATF Tour circuit would get if you could get to LA28 by attending a certain number of meets!
Imagine a world where L.A. ticket access is aided by filling the stands at U.S. Championships, the Pre Classic, and the Millrose Games. All it would take is a little cooperation and advance planning from the U.S. Olympic organizers and track and field bigwigs. Okay, maybe that’s a tall order – but it’s worth imagining. Let’s make the magic of the Olympics work for us year-round.
Kyle Merber
After hanging up his spikes – but never his running shoes – Kyle pivoted to the media side of things, where he shares his enthusiasm, insights, and experiences with subscribers of The Lap Count newsletter, as well as viewers of CITIUS MAG live shows.
