World Rowing Olympic Qualification System, Paris 2024 – now online

Following consultation with Member Federations and confirmation by the World Rowing Council of the option for the quota allocation and the qualification system for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the IOC Executive Board have approved the World Rowing Olympic Qualification System for Paris 2024.

This document is now available online here: https://olympics.com/ioc/documents/olympic-games/paris-2024-olympic-games

For the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the number of qualification spots has gender equality for the second time with spots available for 251 athletes of each gender – 502 in total. This includes host country and universality places, allocated to ensure a wide participation during the Olympic Games regatta.

For each of the fourteen Olympic boat classes, the quota is broken down into three opportunities where qualification for the Olympics is at stake. The first opportunity will be the 2023 World Rowing Championships, followed by Continental Qualification Regattas in 2023 and 2024, then the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta which will take place in May 2024.

A total of 336 athletes will have the opportunity to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia between 3-10 September 2023. The competition is open to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that have national Member Federations that are members of World Rowing. The top placed crews according to the qualification quota in each event will qualify the boats for their National Olympic Committee.

The Continental Qualification Regattas provide opportunities for a total of 64 athletes to qualify through four Continental Qualification Regattas: Asia/Oceania, Africa, Americas, and Europe.  While in principle they are open to all NOCs from the respective continent, there are restrictions on who can qualify – those NOCs who have not participated, not qualified any boats or qualified only one boat at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. World Rowing will confirm the locations and dates of the Continental Qualification Regattas by the end of 2022.

The Final Olympic Qualification Regatta will take place in Lucerne, Switzerland, in May 2024 (exact date TBC). This will be the last chance for 96 athletes to secure their spot for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Any NOC can enter any event in which they have not already qualified. There are no limitations to the number of events an NOC can qualify for at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta.

After each of the qualification regattas, World Rowing will confirm to the respective NOCs, based on the results, that they have obtained a quota place.  From this, the NOC must indicate that they will accept the qualified boats within 14 days.  If an NOC does not accept a qualification place, the place will go to the next highest placed eligible boat in the regatta where the unused qualification was made.

Any questions on the Qualification System, please contact the World Rowing Events Team via Matt.Evans@worldrowing.com.