IOC EB approves Paris 2024 qualification criteria and session schedule, and LA28 discipline review
01 Apr 2022 – The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided today on the qualification criteria and competition session schedule, and the pending weight classes and competition formats for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. It also discussed the principles to set the discipline framework for the Olympic Games LA28 sports programme.
In addition, it recommended to the International Federations (IFs) that they should address the question of minimum age in their sports and, if needed, make the appropriate adjustments to their regulations.
Paris 2024
The qualification systems for all 32 sports on the Paris 2024 sports programme were approved by the IOC EB. These outline the various ways in which athletes and National Olympic Committees can qualify for the Paris 2024 Games.
The criteria for all the disciplines will be published over the course of the following week and can be viewed on IOC.org. The qualification systems set out the pathway for the athletes and teams to qualify for the Games, and the minimum criteria that athletes will have to meet in order to be eligible.
The IOC EB also approved the competition schedule by session, which reflects the ambition of Paris 2024 to offer spectacular and popular Games. The session schedule sets the key framework for Games planning and outlines the start and finish times of each of the sessions. Notably, the agreed timings will allow all athletes to take part in at least one of the Olympic Ceremonies.
In all, 32 sports will be on the programme, resulting in 19 days of competition from 24 July (two days prior to the Opening Ceremony) to 11 August, with 329 medal events and a total of 762 sessions. Paris 2024 will now continue to work on adding the specific events into the sport sessions, focusing on the key principles including athlete experience, international broadcast audience and gender balance.
In addition, the IOC EB accepted the shooting competition formats and the weight classes for boxing and weightlifting. These have been reflected in the revised programme available here and in the respective qualification systems per sport.
Seven men’s and six women’s weight categories will be part of the boxing programme in Paris, and for the first time the sport will reach full gender equality in athlete participation.
As at Tokyo 2020, the weightlifting events will be gender balanced, with five men’s and five women’s weight classes, and equal numbers of male and female athletes.
The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be the first fully gender-balanced Games, with exactly 50 per cent male and female participation, following on from the gender equality already achieved for Tokyo 2020, which had 47.8 per cent female participation. Paris 2024 will also mark the growth in mixed events on the programme, compared to Tokyo 2020, from 18 to 20.
LA28
On 9 December 2021, a set of six themes for the review of the disciplines on the LA28 sports programme was approved by the IOC EB. Building on the six themes of review and noting the importance of setting a clear framework for reviewing and defining the sport, discipline and event programme, the IOC EB adopted today the LA28 programme principles.
| Themes | Principles |
| Cost and complexity | Optimise the sports programme, including any new sports, disciplines and events, to identify further venue and operational efficiencies and achieve a neutral result of programme economics. |
| The overall athlete quota is maintained at 10,500 (including new sports). | |
| Best athletes and athlete safety | The programme endeavours to engage the best athletes and ensures the motivation of current and emerging generations of best athletes to compete at the Olympic Games. |
| The programme aids in optimising the physical and mental protection of athletes and endorses ongoing monitoring by IFs. | |
| Popularity and host country interest | The sports, disciplines and events on the programme strengthen engagement and broadcast/digital audiences both internationally and within the US. |
| Uniqueness, universality, gender equality and relevance for youth | The programme excites and engages a young global audience, while respecting tradition and demonstrating that sport is for all. |
| 50 per cent female participation across the Games at quota, discipline and event level, where possible. | |
| Integrity and fairness | The programme supports comprehensive and independent anti-doping programmes that effectively protect clean athletes. |
| IFs to strengthen the prevention of competition manipulation by increasing awareness and education, and enhancing refereeing and judging systems. | |
| IFs to comply with the “Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance”. | |
| Environmental sustainability | The programme protects and enhances the environment and fosters long-term sustainability. |
These principles reflect the Olympic Charter, the recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020+5 and LA28’s vision for the Games. The objective of these principles is to provide one clear framework to strengthen the process for reviewing and defining the sport, discipline and event programme for LA28.
The programme principles will also be used to lead the analysis and initial evaluation of potential Organising Committee-proposed sports for the LA28 sports programme.
The finalisation of the disciplines for each sport will be completed in 2023, along with the LA28 OCOG-proposed sports. The events and athlete quotas are expected to be confirmed in December 2024.
