QUALIFICATION STANDARDS

In 2019, World Athletics announced a change in the qualification system for combined events in major championships.

Until the World Championships in Doha in 2019, qualification was a combination of automatic qualifying standard, and the next best marks from the world lists within the qualifying period.

For the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and the World Championships in Oregon in 2022, the system switched to a combination of automatic qualifying standards, and the next best marks from the new world rankings. The automatic standards were also increased by over 200 points between 2019 and 2023, in order to place more emphasis on the rankings.

In addition to automatic standards, world lists and world rankings there can be a number of other routes to qualification. These include:

• performance at designated competitions, such as Area championships
• wildcard entries, for previous champions and Combined Events Tour winners
• host country places
• places awarded at the discretion of World Athletics.

This page provides a handy summary of the qualification arrangements for upcoming championships. Please check the relevant governing body’s website for the official, up-to-date position on qualifying criteria.

The rankings analysis page provides a regular summary of movement of athletes through the rankings, the factors affecting those movements, and the interaction with qualification.

The definitive lists of athletes qualified (but not necessarily selected) for major championships can be found at the “Road to…” sites.