​Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification | 2023 World and Continental Championships

Researched by Carl Lein

Written by Carl Lein / Fifteen BMX 

Photos by Fifteen BMX 

See the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Criteria HERE

​Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification | 2023 World and Continental Championships

Researched by Carl Lein

Written by Carl Lein / Fifteen BMX 

Photos by Fifteen BMX 

See the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Criteria HERE

28 Sept 2023

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the 2024 Olympic qualification path gets just a little harder to navigate. The easy part is top 10 ranked NOCs, thankfully the UCI keep and updated Olympic ranking on their site HERE … but then along comes the 2023 Continental Championships and World Championships qualification route to confuse the issue.

For this Olympic Qualification Cycle, nations have both the 2023 Glasgow Worlds and the 2024 Rock Hill Worlds to work with. One male and one female spot is available at each event, four in total.  In addition to the two World Championships, there are places available the 2023 Continental Championships, except for Europe and Oceania, so Africia, the Americas and Asia can all qualify one spot at their Championships. All that should be easy to navigate … right? Well not really, it’s littered with ‘what-ifs’ … it’s ultimately confusing af! Luckily for us, Carl Lein, has been digging through the results that we have right now, post the Sarrians World Cup, and has come up with the, or some of the possible scenarios on the road to Paris, outside the straightforward Olympic Rankings.

The first thing we should clarify is, you should definitely do your own research … while we are confident that the scenarios below are based on solid foundations, it is only our opinion right now, nothing has been officially announced. Before anyone starts booking flights to Paris next summer, seek out your National Federations or the UCIs official confirmation. And keep in mind … the Continental and World Championships route is somewhat of a moving target … but with that in mind, here we go … 

2023 Continental Championships:

Americas | Women

Current Scenario:

Paola Reis Santos (BRA) won the Continental Championships.

Brazil fell to 11th in Olympic Qualification Rankings after Sarrians, so they currently rely on the Continental Championship finish to qualify one rider.

Optional Scenario #1:

Neither Brazil nor Canada finish in the top 10 for Olympic Rankings.

Brazil qualifies via the Continental Championships criteria.

Canada qualifies one rider via the 2023 Glasgow Worlds Criteria – Molly Simpson 6th in semi.

Optional Scenario #2:

Both Brazil and Canada finish in the top 10 for Olympic Rankings.

Ecuador placed 4th at Continental Championships via Domenica Azuero, qualifying one rider.

Americas | Men

Current Scenario:

The USA, COL, and ARG filled the top 7 places at the Continental Championships. All three of those nations are currently in the top 10 in Olympic Rankings.

Wilson Goyes of Ecuador placed 8th at Continental Championships, Ecuador qualifies one rider.

Optional Scenario #1:

Argentina falls out of top 10 in Olympic Rankings but qualifies one rider via the Continental Championships criteria – Nicolas Torres 4th in final.

Ecuador qualifies one rider via the 2023 Glasgow Worlds criteria – Alfredo Campo 7th in semi.

It is unlikely that USA or COL fall out of top 10 Olympic Rankings.

Asia | Women

Current Scenario:

Sae Hatakeyama of Japan won the Asian Continental Championships but Japan are currently 9th place in Olympic Rankings, qualifying one rider.

Wanyi Liao of China, placed second at the Continental Championships, qualifying one rider.

Optional Scenario #1:

Japan does not finish in the top 10 in Olympic Rankings; qualifies one rider via Continental Championships criteria. China does not qualify.

Asia | Men

Current Scenario:

Komet Sukprasert from Thailand, won the Continental Championships, qualifying one rider from Thailand.

It’s not likely that Thailand would break into top 10 in Olympic Rankings, so there are no foreseeable optional scenarios.

The African Continental Championships are scheduled for November 4th – 5th in Zimbabwe.

2023 UCI Worlds Glasgow:

Women

Current Scenario:

Regula Runge of Germany placed 15th (8th in semi but with a faster time than the Italian woman who got 8th in other semi) at the 2023 Worlds, Germany qualifies one rider.

GBR, NED, USA, AUS, COL, SUI, JPN, and CAN all have placed higher at 2023 Glasgow Worlds but are already qualified via Olympic Rankings or 2023 Continental Championships.

Optional Scenario #1:

If Brazil and Canada fail to make the top 10 in Olympic Rankings, then Brazil would use the Continental Championships quota. In that case Canada would qualify via the 2023 Glasgow Worlds finish with Molly Simpson’s 6th in the semi. Germany would then not qualify.

Optional Scenario #2:

If France falls out of the top 10 Olympic Rankings, they get the Host Nation spot. Germany still qualifies via 2023 Glasgow Worlds.

Optional Scenario #3:

Australia falls out of top 10 Olympic Rankings.  Per the “Minimum Allocation per Continent (Europe and Oceania)” rule, Australia would automatically be ranked 10th, bumping France who would then get the Host Nation spot.

With Saya Sakakibara’s win in Sarrians Australia moved up to the 6th in Olympic Rankings giving them some breathing room.

Germany still qualifies.

Optional Scenario #4:

Denmark falls out of top 10 Olympic Rankings (currently 7th). No change for Germany, who still qualifies via 2023 Glasgow Worlds. Denmark’s highest ranked rider at 2023 Worlds was Dorte Balle (6th in the quarter).

It is unlikely that NED, SUI, USA, COL, or GBR would fall out of the top 10 Olympic Rankings, but if they did, they would get the 2023 Worlds spot and Germany would not qualify.

Men

Kristaps Krigers, of Latvia, placed 22nd (7th in quarter) at 2023 Glasgow Worlds, Latvia qualifies one rider.

FRA, COL, GBR, ARG, SUI, NED, ECU, and AUS placed higher at 2023 Worlds but have already qualified via Olympic Rankings or a Continental Championships finish.

Overall Qualification Update:

Men

After last weekend’s UCI World Cup in Sarrians, GBR passed the USA in the men’s category, moving into 5th overall in Olympic Ranking points.  That allows them to qualify two riders. The silver medal winner from Tokyo, Kye Whyte, being the obvious first choice, but who would be second?

New Zealand bumped up two spots to 11th, but they still trail Argentina by 700 points.

Women

As mentioned, Australia moved up one spot, which bumped Denmark down one.  France moved up two spots to 8th on solid performances from a healthy Axelle Etienne (6th in the final) and Camille Maire (5th in the semi).  That means they don’t have to rely on the Host Nation spot.

Canada is back in the top 10 with a main event appearance from Molly Simpson.

Brazil fell out of the Top 10 Olympic Rankings, and will now have to rely on the 2023 Continental Championships quota.

Another route to the 2024 Games is the Universality spot (updated below 29/09/2003), one per gender. On October 1st, 2023, the IOC will invite all eligible NOCs to submit their requests for Universality places. The deadline is the 15th of January 2024. What denotes eligibility we hear your ask … ‘The athletes offered the Universality quota places must have demonstrated they level during the qualification events and training camps, to be agreed with the UCI if judged necessary in the lead up to the Olympic Games’.  It’s going to be interesting, to say the least, to see where these two Olympic places go, but after some digging (see eligible country list below) we ‘think’ that the only nation that may be eligibile in BMX Racing is Aruba … and possibily El Salvador. These spots, or at least one of them, may ultimately be reissued the next qualified NOC.

Olympic Nation Rankings as of 28th September 2023

RANK 1 to 2 >> 3 Olympic Places

RANK 3 to 5 >> 2 Olympic Places

RANK 6 to 10 >> 1 Olympic Place