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How do archers qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games?

14 February 2023

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Archery at the Paris 2024 Olympics will take place in the magnificent Esplanade de Invalides, in the centre of the French capital.

The competition will run from 25 July to 4 August 2024 and award five gold medals in total – in the recurve men’s individual, recurve women’s individual, recurve men’s team, recurve women’s team and recurve mixed team events.

Just as has been the case at every edition of the Games since Atlanta in 1996, only a set number of athletes will compete – 128 archers in total, 64 men and 64 women.

The places are awarded using a qualification and quota system.

Athletes can win spaces for their countries at certain competitions during the qualifying period, which starts at the 2023 Hyundai World Archery Championships in Berlin and will end with the final qualifier in Antalya in June 2024.

Other important events include continental championships and continental Games – where spots can be won directly – and any events that issue world ranking points, as these could prove critical in the end.

Here’s how archers can qualify for Paris 2024…

As a team

Twenty-four teams – 12 recurve men’s teams and 12 recurve women’s teams – will compete at the next Olympics. There have been some significant changes to the process of qualifying a team since Tokyo 2020.

For previous Games, two-thirds of the squads qualified spots at the worlds (there were eight team quotas available). That’s no longer the case – with the tickets now spread across some continental championships and the world rankings, ensuring only the very best nations will compete for the two Olympic team gold medals.

Here’s how it breaks down per gender:

3 teams (9 places) – top three teams at the 2023 Hyundai World Archery Championships
3 teams (9 places) – continental champions in Europe, Asia and the Americas
3 teams (9 places) – top three teams at the final qualification tournament
1 team (3 places) – host nation (France)
2 teams (6 places) – next-highest-ranked teams on the world ranking list issued on 24 June 2024

If a team that’s already qualified qualifies again (for example, the Korean women win the world championships and then the Asian championships), the quota goes to the runner-up at the continental event.

The mixed team event, introduced at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, works in a different way. Any country that qualifies at least two individual archers (one man and one woman) to the Games can take part – and there is no need to win a specific mixed team quota.

As an individual

Nations can win either a team quota or an individual quota in each gender for the archery competitions at the Olympics. It’s not possible to win multiple individual places (for example, two or three). A team quota automatically grants three individual quota places.

Single individual spots are also available at numerous events, including continental Games and the new continental qualifiers, which are standalone competitions held alongside continental championships that have the sole purpose of distributing quotas. The mixed team champions at the continental Games win two individual places – one for men and one for women.

Here is how the places are split:

3 places – top three athletes at the 2023 World Archery Championships
4 places – champions of the mixed team events at continental Games in Europe, Americas, Oceania and Asia
1 place – champions of the mixed team event at the 2023 African Championships
6 places – top two athletes at the continental Games in Europe, Asia and the Americas
10 places – top athletes at standalone continental qualification tournaments (three places in Europe; two places in Asia, Americas and Africa; one place in Oceania)
2 places – top two athletes at the final qualification in 2024
2 places – universality invitations

It’s critical to remember that, in both archery’s individual and team events, quotas are won for the nation – not the athletes themselves. There’s often a secondary process within a country to decide which archer uses the ticket to the Olympics.

Fluid situation

As places begin to be awarded, there’ll be some cases where countries first qualify an individual place and then upgrade to a team.

In that case, the individual quota then needs to be reassigned – it’s an either-or situation – and the procedure goes back to the event at which it was won in order to find the next most deserving recipient. It sounds a little complicated, but it isn’t.

Individual places will just be given to the next-highest finisher at the relevant event – down to eighth place.

Team and mixed team places will be reassigned down to fourth place.

Any places that can’t be reassigned within the maximums will be moved to the final qualifier, until that’s complete – and then any quotas needing to be awarded again (if they’re returned by nations or for any other reason) will be given based on the world rankings.

If a nation that wins a mixed team quota already has one gender qualified (as a team or individual) but not the other, they’ll receive the missing gender quota – while the quota for the gender previously secured will be added to the number available at the final qualifier.

Selecting an Olympian

All Olympic quota places for the sport of archery are won for a national team, rather than an individual athlete. It means that the archer who wins the place does not necessarily go to the Games. Nations must first accept the quota place and then choose the athlete or athletes who will be sent to Paris 2024. This is often done through secondary selection tournaments – but the process is entirely at the discretion of the country.

Minimum standard

As well as holding a quota place for the Olympic Games, an archer must also have reached a minimum competition standard to compete at Paris 2024. This is defined as a certain score for the 72-arrow 70-metre qualifying round (a maximum score of 720 points) and must be shot at an event registered in the World Archery calendar.

The minimum standards are as follows:

Recurve men: 640 points
Recurve women: 610 points

The men’s minimum standard has not changed since the last Olympics however the women’s minimum standard has been raised by five points.

Event schedule

Last updated on 1 June 2023.

Phase 1: World Archery Championships

1-6 August 2023 – Berlin, Germany – top three teams and top three individuals per gender.

Phase 2a: Continental Games

European Games: 23-29 June 2023 – Krakow, Poland – mixed team champion and two individuals per gender.
Asian Games: 2-8 October 2023 – Hangzhou, China – mixed team champion and two individuals per gender.
Pan American Games: 1-5 November 2023 – Santiago, Chile – mixed team champion and two individuals per gender.
Pacific Games: 21-24 November 2023 – Honiara, Solomon Islands – mixed team champion.

As of February 2023, archery is not included on the programme of the African Games and the quota places available for the event’s mixed team champion will be reallocated to the continental qualifier.

Phase 2b: Continental qualifiers

For the first time, the continental team champions in Asia, Europe and the Americas will qualify directly for the Olympics. Individual places reserved for the continents will be awarded in standalone events, usually run alongside the continental championships.

Asia: 3-12 November 2023 – Bangkok, Thailand – team champions and two individuals per gender.
Africa: 8-12 November 2023 – Nabeul city, Tunisia – mixed team champions and two individuals per gender.
Oceania: 16-17 March 2024 – Auckland, New Zealand – one individual per gender.
Americas: 8-14 April 2024 – Medellin, Colombia – team champions and two individuals per gender.
Europe: 5-12 May 2024 – Essen, Germany – team champions and three individuals per gender.