Figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Qualification
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The number of entries for the figure skating events at the Winter Olympics is determined by quotas set by the International Olympic Committee. A total of 148 quota spots were available to athletes to compete in the figure skating events at the 2018 Winter Olympics. There were 30 spots allotted each in men's and women's singles, 20 in pair skating, and 24 in ice dance. Additionally, ten nations qualified for the team event. There is no individual athlete qualification to the Olympics; the choice of whom to send is at the discretion of each country's National Olympic Committee. Each National Olympic Committee could enter up to 18 skaters total, with a maximum of nine men or nine women. Japan and the United States ultimately earned three quota spots each in the men's event; Canada, Russia, and the United States earned three quota spots each in the women's event; Canada, China, and Russia earned three quota spots in the pairs' event; and Canada and the United States earned three quota spots each in the ice dance event.
Qualification of nations
Countries were able to qualify entries to the 2018 Winter Olympics in two ways. Most spots were allocated based on the results of the 2017 World Figure Skating Championships. There, countries were able to qualify up to three entries in each discipline according to a predetermined system.[1] The results of the 2017 World Championships determined 83 total spots: 24 entries each in men's and women's singles, 16 in pairs, and 19 in ice dance.[2]
The remainder of the spots were filled at the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy in late September 2017. Countries that had already earned an entry to the Olympics were not allowed to qualify additional entries at this final qualifying competition. However, if a country earned two or three spots at the World Championships, but did not have two or three skaters, respectively, qualify for the free skate, then they were allowed to send a skater who did not reach the free segment at World Championships to the Nebelhorn Trophy to qualify the remaining spot(s). Unlike at the World Championships, where countries could qualify more than one spot depending on the placement of their skater(s), at the Nebelhorn Trophy, countries could earn only one spot per discipline, regardless of ranking.[3]
Initially, a total of six spots per singles event, four spots in pairs, and five in ice dance were available at the Nebelhorn Trophy. According to guidelines established by the International Skating Union (ISU), nations had to select skaters and teams who have achieved a minimum Total Elements Score at an ISU-recognized international competition on or before 29 January 2018.[4]
For the team event, scores from the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships and the 2017–18 Grand Prix of Figure Skating season were tabulated to establish the top ten nations. Each nation compiled a score from their top performers in each of the four disciplines. The 2017 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final was the final event to affect the team event score.[5]
Qualified nations
| Nations | Men's singles | Women's singles | Pairs | Ice dance | Team event | Add. | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
 Austria |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
 Belgium |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
 Brazil |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
 Canada |
2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |  |
17 | |
 China |
2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
11 | |
 Czech Republic |
1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
 Finland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
 France |
1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
8 | |
 Georgia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
 Germany |
1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
8 | |
 Great Britain |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
 Hungary |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
 Israel |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
1[a] | 7 |
 Italy |
1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
11 | |
 Japan |
3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
9 | |
 Kazakhstan |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
 Latvia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
 Malaysia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
 North Korea |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
 Philippines |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
 Poland |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
 Olympic Athletes from Russia |
2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
15 | |
 Slovakia |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
 South Korea |
1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
7 | |
 Spain |
2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
 Sweden |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
 Switzerland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
 Turkey |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
 Ukraine |
1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
 United States |
3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
14 | |
 Uzbekistan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total: 32 NOCs | 30 | 30 | 22 teams | 24 teams | 10 teams | 1 | 153 |
Qualification summary
Men's singles
Twenty-four quota spots in the men's event were awarded based on the results at the 2017 World Figure Skating Championships.[2] An additional six quota spots were earned at the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy.[7] This was the first time that Malaysia had ever qualified for a figure skating event at the Winter Olympics; the Olympic Council of Malaysia chose to send Julian Yee.[8]
While Alexander Majorov earned an Olympic spot for Sweden by finishing third at the Nebelhorn Trophy, the Swedish Olympic Committee declined to send him to the Olympics, as he did not meet their prescribed standards. The Swedish Olympic Committee had required that Majorov finish within the top eight at an international competition and did not count his seventh-place finish at the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships, because it was not a truly international event.[9] That quota spot was re-allocated to the Philippines, who chose to send Michael Christian Martinez.[10]
| Event | Skaters per NOC |
Qualifying NOCs | Total skaters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 World Championships | 3 | Japan United States |
24 |
| 2 | China Spain Canada OAR Israel | ||
| 1 | Uzbekistan Georgia Latvia Australia Kazakhstan France Czech Republic Germany | ||
| 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 | Belgium Sweden Italy South Korea Malaysia Ukraine Philippines |
6 |
| Total | 30 | ||
Women's singles
Twenty-four quota spots in the women's event were awarded based on the results at the 2017 World Championships.[2] An additional six quota spots were earned at the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy.[11]
| Event | Skaters per NOC |
Qualifying NOCs | Total skaters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 World Championships | 3 | OAR Canada United States |
24 |
| 2 | Japan Italy Kazakhstan South Korea | ||
| 1 | China Belgium Slovakia France Germany Hungary Latvia | ||
| 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 | Australia Sweden Switzerland Brazil Finland Ukraine |
6 |
| Total | 30 | ||
Pairs
Sixteen quota spots in the pairs' event were awarded based on results at the 2017 World Championships.[2] France had originally qualified two quota spots in pair skating at the 2017 World Championships; however, they relinquished one of their spots. The extra quota spot was made available at the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy along with the other four spots originally allocated.[12]
Although South Korea did not qualify a pairs team through the normal process, as the host nation, they were still able to enter a team in the 2018 Winter Olympics.[4] North Korea originally qualified one quota spot in pair skating after Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik finished in sixth place at the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy.[13] However, after North Korea missed the deadline to submit their entries for the Olympics, their spot was re-allocated to Japan.[14] Following negotiations with South Korea – the first in more than two years – North Korea agreed to "actively cooperate" at the Olympics.[15] and on 20 January, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that, as part of the "Olympic Korean Peninsula Declaration", they had granted accreditation to North Korea for twenty-two athletes to compete at the Olympics and allocated an additional quota spot in pair skating for Ryom and Kim. In addition, the IOC approved the request of the North and South Korean Olympic committees to allow the two delegations to enter the arena together under the name "Korea" during the opening ceremony. Thomas Bach, then-president of the IOC, stated: "The Olympic spirit is about respect, dialogue and understanding. The Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 are hopefully opening the door to a brighter future on the Korean peninsula, and inviting the world to join in a celebration of hope."
| Event | Teams per NOC |
Qualifying NOCs | Total teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 World Championships | 3 | China OAR Canada |
15 |
| 2 | Germany France Italy | ||
| 1 | France United States | ||
| 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 | Australia Austria North Korea Israel Czech Republic Japan |
5 |
| Host nation privilege[4] | 1 | South Korea |
1 |
| "Olympic Korean Peninsula Declaration"[17] | 1 | North Korea |
1 |
| Total | 22 | ||
Ice dance
Nineteen quota spots in the ice dance event were awarded based on results at the 2017 World Championships.[2] Denmark had originally qualified one quota spot in ice dance at the 2017 World Championships; however, they relinquished their spot when Laurence Fournier Beaudry was unable to obtain Danish citizenship.[18] The extra quota spot was made available at the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy along with the other five slots originally allocated.[19]
| Event | Teams per NOC |
Qualifying NOCs | Total teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 World Championships | 3 | Canada United States |
18 |
| 2 | France OAR Italy | ||
| 1 | Israel Denmark Poland Ukraine China Turkey Spain | ||
| 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 | Great Britain Japan Germany South Korea Czech Republic Slovakia |
6 |
| Total | 24 | ||
Team event
In order for a nation to qualify for the team event, it had to have qualified entrants in at least three of the four disciplines (men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, or ice dance). If there were not ten nations that had qualified entrants in all four disciplines, nations with three entrants could use an additional athlete quota to fill their team. These additional athletes were eligible to compete in the team event, but not in the individual Olympic events.[4] The nations which qualified for the team event at the 2022 Winter Olympics are identified with a green check mark (
) in the last column.[5]
Top four NOCs on waitlist per discipline
If a country rejected a quota spot, then the additional quota became available. A country could be eligible for one quota spot per event in the reallocation process. The following list was compiled after the remaining spots were allocated at the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy.[3] Countries marked in bold with a ● accepted a reallocated quota.
| Men's singles | Women's singles | Pairs | Ice dance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines ● Switzerland Great Britain Poland |
 Armenia Singapore Chinese Taipei Philippines |
Japan ● Belarus Spain Great Britain |
 Lithuania Armenia Finland Belarus |
Notes
- Aimee Buchanan of Israel competed in the team event, but not the women's individual event.[6]