As Climbing looks forward to its third Olympic appearance, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board recently announced the qualification process for Boulder, Lead, and Speed athletes.

That includes clear quotas and qualification events for the 76 climbers who will eventually compete at the Long Beach Climbing Theater in 2028.

Qualification Events and Quotas

Beginning in 2027, athletes will have chances to qualify at Continental events, World Climbing Championships, and the Olympic Qualifier Series. There is also one place per gender, per discipline available for the host nation, USA, and one Universality place.

The qualification events include:

• European Games, Istanbul, Turkey, June 2027 [Dates TBD]
• Pan American Games, Lima, Peru, July 2027 [Dates TBD]
• World Climbing Championships – Brno, Czechia, August 2027
• World Climbing Africa Qualifier [Location and dates TBD]
• World Climbing Asia Qualifier [Location and dates TBD]
• World Climbing Oceania Qualifier [Location and dates TBD]
• Olympic Qualifier Series 2028 – The Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) is planned to have three events with dates and locations confirmed at a later date.

World Climbing’s qualification events in 2027 will account for roughly 50% of the LA28 quota, with a single qualification place available at each event.

After that, the OQS will allocate the remaining places: a minimum of four each for Boulder and Lead, and six for Speed.

There will be a minimum of 12 men and 12 women competing in Boulder and Lead. Speed will be restricted to 14 spots for each gender.

Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) will have a quota limit of two climbers per gender, per discipline, and the total number of athletes across the climbing competitions will never exceed 76.

Cross Qualification

If a climber qualifies in both Boulder and Lead, the number of competing athletes in one of the disciplines will increase. The spot that they gain in the two disciplines will only count as one entry (in the total quota counting of Climbing), therefore maintaining the total number of 76 athletes allocated to Climbing by the IOC.

This, however, is still restricted by the two-athlete NOC entry limit meaning no more than two climbers from the same country can compete in a discipline.

This cross qualification does not affect the Speed discipline as the Olympic rules and format are set to 14 competing athletes. Additional climbers can be accommodated in the Boulder and Lead formats, but not in Speed.

How We Got Here

At Tokyo 2020, Sport Climbing’s Olympic debut, athletes competed in one combined format offering one set of medals per gender. At Paris 2024, athletes competed in a Speed event and a combined Boulder & Lead event, doubling the number of medals from Tokyo. The Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 will be the first to offer three sets of medals per gender, allowing athletes to specialize in each of the three disciplines.

Climbing is one of 22 qualification systems recently approved by the IOC Executive Board for LA28.

World Climbing is responsible for establishing its sports rules for participation in the Olympic Games, including qualification criteria in accordance with the Olympic Charter. Those criteria must be submitted to the IOC EB for approval.

The systems are based on the successful, well-established pathways in place for Paris 2024 and previous Olympic Games. Recommendations from the Paris 2024 debrief process – conducted with NOCs, IFs, the IOC and other stakeholders – have been applied where feasible.

The LA28 qualification systems ensure athletes have multiple opportunities to qualify, maintain continental and universal representation, and aim to minimize travel demands for athletes and teams.