Climbers with dreams of competing at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games now know the path they will have to take to get there as the qualification system has been confirmed.

In the third Olympic appearance, and the first as a program sport, Climbing will have three standalone disciplines with a total of 76 athletes aiming for medals in men’s and women’s Boulder, Lead and Speed.

QUALIFICATION EVENTS

All three disciplines will qualify athletes at the same events, beginning with the European Games and Pan American Games set to take place in 2027. Once again there will be qualification on offer at the World Climbing Championship, Continental events and Olympic Qualifier Series.

There is also one place per gender, per discipline available for the host nation, USA, and one Universality place.

The events that will qualify climbers are:

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

THE NUMBERS

The qualification events in 2027 organised by or with World Climbing will offer approximately 50% of the LA28 places, with a single spot available at each.

The OQS in 2028 will then allocate the remaining places, a minimum of four for Boulder and Lead and six for Speed. More places may be allocated depending on the host country and Universality place results.

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.

Every country (NOC) competing will have a quota limit of two climbers per gender and 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 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.

THE PROCESS

Following the approval of the first 26 qualification systems for LA28 in December 2025, climbing is one of a further 22 qualification systems to have now been approved by the IOC Executive Board.

All systems have been developed in line with the Qualification System Principles (QSP) approved by the IOC EB in March 2025.

World Climbing is responsible for establishing its sports rules for participation in the Olympic Games, including qualification criteria in accordance with the Olympic Charter. Such 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 minimise travel demands for athletes and teams.

Click here to see all the approved qualification systems for LA28.