The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) announced Thursday that amendments were made to the entry standards for the 2016 Olympic Games in August. A total of 17 changes were made to entry standards of events of the track and field program in Rio. 

“The aim is to have more athletes achieving the standard and therefore, to get closer to the target number of participants,” the IAAF wrote in a press release. 

The initial entry standards were approved by the IAAF Council in April 2015, but were revised after a review following the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.

Some notable changes include the womenÂ’s 400m entry standard which was previously 52.00 and is now 52.20. Both the womenÂ’s and menÂ’s 800m entry standards have been changed as well. The womenÂ’s entry standard went from 2:01.00 to 2:01.50 and the menÂ’s went from 1:45.80 to 1:46.00. The 1500m will also have softer entry standards for both genders as the time is a full second slower for women and 0.80 slower for men. 

Perhaps the biggest change of the entry standards, the menÂ’s and womenÂ’s marathon times went from 2:42:00 to 2:45:00 for women, and 2:17 to 2:19 for men. 

Via Statman @gearoid88, women's Olympic marathon standard of 2:45:00 equates to a 12.13 100m, or 2:09.5 800m, or a 35-min 10K. Beyond soft.

— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) December 10, 2015

Rio 2016 Olympics Qualification System