World Championships: Olympic Qualification to Begin With Open Water 10K Races

van ROUWENDAAL Sharon NED Gold Medal, BECK Leonie GER Silver Medal, EICHELBERGER JUNGBLUT Viviane BRA Bronze Medal 10km Women Open Water Swimming FINA 19th World Championships Budapest 2022 Budapest, Lupa Lake 29/06/22 Photo Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Leonie Beck, Sharon van Rouwendaal and Ana Maria Cunha with their 10k medals at the 2022 World Championships -- Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

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World Championships: Olympic Qualification to Begin With Open Water 10K Races

The first swimming spots for the 2024 Olympic Games will be determined this weekend during the open water 10-kilometer races at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. The three medalists from the women’s and men’s 10K races will earn automatic bids to race in Paris, with the other Olympic spots to be allocated at the next World Championships in February 2024.

Only 22 female and 22 male swimmers will earn the opportunity to race open water in Paris, which is down from 25 swimmers in each race at the previous four Olympic Games featuring open water competition. The remaining 19 spots will be the top-13 swimmers at the 2024 Worlds (not anyone who earns a medal in 2023) plus the top remaining finisher from each continent and the top finisher from the Olympic host country (France). If French swimmers qualify through any of their other criteria, the final spot will go to the next-highest-placing swimmer in 2024.

The women’s 10K race will be held Saturday in Fukuoka beginning at 8 a.m. local time (7 p.m. ET Friday evening in the United States). The men’s event will follow Sunday with the same timing. The Netherlands’ Sharon van Rouwendaal is the defending world champion in the 10K, having edged out Germany’s Leonie Beck and Brazil’s Ana Marcela Cunha last year in Budapest, while Italy’s men finished 1-2 in 2022 with Gregorio Paltrinieri and Domenico Acerenza claiming the top two spots ahead of Germany’s Florian Wellbrock.

In addition to open water, relay results from the Fukuoka Worlds will also go toward Olympic qualification. The top three teams in the seven Olympic relays (women’s and men’s 400 and 800 freestyle plus women’s, men’s and mixed 400 medley) will automatically earn spots in Paris, with the remaining 13 Olympic berths in each relay taken from the fastest times between the 2023 and 2024 Worlds.

More information on Olympic qualification in the 10K is available here.

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