With a little under three months to go until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Australian athletes have begun the gruelling qualification process to compete in the global sporting tournament.
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Approximately 10,500 athletes from 206 nations are expected to compete in 329 events across 32 sports, including the new addition of breakdancing.
While the countdown to the opening ceremony is fast approaching, you may be surprised to know that many of the qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will not take place until much closer to the event.
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So far, 60 Australian athletes have qualified to compete in athletics, boxing, breaking, canoe slalom, canoe sprint, sailing, sport climbing, and marathon swimming.
More are expected to qualify in their chosen sport as May, June, and July progress. They will join the Australian Olympic team, which is expected to consist of an estimated 450 Australian athletes.
How do athletes qualify for the Olympic Games?
While each sport runs its Olympic qualifiers differently, there are several stages that athletes need to progress through to qualify and be selected to compete in their chosen event.
To compete, eligible athletes must be nominated by their national or regional (eg Australia is classified as Oceania) sporting federation after competing in various performance trials.
The final selection of an Olympic team is then made by a nation’s official Olympic Committee – which in Australia’s case is the Australian Olympic Committee.
In an effort to maximise global participation, there are also specific quotas for various regions and limits on the number of athletes competing from any one country in all Olympic events.
What Australian athletes have qualified for the Olympic Games?
A full list of Australian athletes who have qualified to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games can be found here.
Prior to the opening ceremony, 3,000 Olympic qualifier events would have been held worldwide.
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