Rio Olympics to have eight track and field morning finals

Eight track and field finals, including the women's 10,000 metres and men's triple jump, will be held during morning sessions at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the International Association of Athletics Federation said on Monday.

At a council meeting in Monaco last month, the IAAF outlined plans to introduce 13 morning finals for the first time since 1988 in order to help maximise international broadcast coverage.

The governing body confirmed on Monday that eight track and field finals, along with all five road events -- the two marathons and the three race walk events -- will be held during the morning sessions.

The women's 10,000 will be won on the first morning of track and field action on Aug. 12, while other morning finals include the men's and women's 3,000m steeplechase, men's 400m hurdles, men's and women's discus, and the women's hammer.

"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 men's 100m final will take place on the evening of Sunday, August 14, with the women's the evening before.

The Rio Olympics takes place from August 5 to August 21.

Image: The mascot for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (left) has been named Vinicius, and the Paralympics mascot (right) will go by the name of Tom.

Photograph: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images