Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter a maximum of three qualified athletes in each individual event if all of them meet the entry standard during the qualifying period; and a maximum of one qualified relay team per event. Under the Universality rule, any NOC without a qualified athlete or relay team would have been permitted to send the highest-ranked male or female athlete to either of the following individual events, namely the 100 m, 800 m, or the marathon.^[1]

Similar to the 2020 edition, the qualification system for Paris 2024 was set on a dual pathway, where the initial half of the total quota (about fifty percent) was distributed to the athletes through the entry standards approved by the World Athletics council, with the remainder relying on the world ranking list within the qualifying period.^[2][3]

The entry standards could be obtained in various meets organized and approved by the World Athletics within the given timeframe. The qualification period for the marathon races occurred from 1 November 2022 to 30 April 2024; for the 10,000 metres, combined events (heptathlon and decathlon), racewalks, and relays from 31 December 2022 to 30 June 2024, with the rest of the individual track and field events running over an annual period (from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024).^[1]

For the marathon races, any runner ranked higher than the sixty-fifth-place athlete on the filtered Quota Place "Road to Paris" list on 30 January 2024 was deemed for immediate selection to his or her respective national team at the Games. Beyond the deadline, the remaining twenty percent of the total quota was determined by the same dual pathway qualification criteria outlined above without displacing any qualified athletes on the set date.^[2][4]

For the inaugural marathon race walking mixed relay, a maximum of twenty-five teams, each comprising a male and a female race walker, were entitled to compete in a four-leg race encompassing the marathon distance. Twenty-two teams directly booked a slot for their corresponding event at the Olympics through the 2024 World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships, from April 20–21, in Antalya, Turkey, while the remaining three teams outside the key qualifier were selected based on the World Athletics performance list for the mixed relays within the qualification period (31 December 2022 to 30 June 2024).^[5]

For the track relays, a maximum of sixteen qualified NOCs were entitled to each event. The top fourteen teams in each relay race at the 2024 World Athletics Relays, during May 2024 in Nassau, Bahamas, directly booked a slot for their corresponding event at the Olympics, while the remaining two teams outside the key qualifier were selected according to the World Athletics performance list for relays within the qualification period (31 December 2022, to 30 June 2024).^[6][1]

NOCs with more than three qualified athletes in an individual event could select any of them based on their own criteria. For example, the United States selects athletes based on the results achieved at the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials for track and field but enforces a policy of entering every qualified athlete. Sweden only enters athletes sufficient to reach at least the twelfth position, based on the assessment evaluated by the NOC.

For the second consecutive time, World Athletics published the qualification tracking tool Road to Paris on the statistics zone of the sport governing body's official website in the last quarter of 2023. This tool displayed the list of qualified athletes in each individual and relay event, particularly those officially selected by their respective NOC, either through the entry standards approved by World Athletics or the world ranking.^[2]