With content from the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC)
The 2024 Olympic Games will have more than 10,000 athletes from over 200 nations take part in 306 medal events in 32 sports. Each sport has a specific path for individual and team athletes to qualify to participate. There is no specific age limit for taking part in the Olympic Games and age restrictions are set by the individual International Federations (IFs) for each sport.
To be eligible to participate in Equestrian sport at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, athletes must be born on or before 31 December 2008 (no younger than 16 years of age in the year that the Olympic Games take place). All horses must be born on or before 31 December 2016 (no younger than eight years of age in the year that the Olympic Games take place).
With under a year to go to the start of the Games, Team Canada’s race for qualifications for Paris 2024 is well underway. Athletes have been engaging in opportunities to assist in their selection to represent the maple leaf. One important event are the Pan American Games in fall 2023 in Santiago Chile. There Canadian athletes will be striving for medal placements but have the additional goal of using their placements to qualify for the Games.
In some sports, quota spots are allocated directly to the athletes who earn them. In other sports, like Equestrian, the quota spots go to the National Olympic Committee (NOC), which means there is a separate selection process within the country to fill the spots.
Some sports have direct qualification events while others have qualification based on a cumulative world ranking list or may use a combination of both pathways. With the Olympic criteria now approved and available for Dressage, Eventing and Show Jumping, here below is the general information and links to the qualification steps for each discipline.
Dressage
Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu and All In competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Photo Credit: MacMillan Photography & Media Services
A total of 60 Dressage athletes will compete for the podium in Paris 2024, with a maximum of three athletes per country and reserves. Following the FEI Dressage Olympic Qualification System athletes must comply with the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MER) criteria in order to be selected.
Here is the Dressage Criteria and below is a list of international qualification events:
Eventing
Colleen Loach and Qorry Blue D’Argouges competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Photo Credit: MacMillan Photography & Media Services
In Eventing, a total of 65 athletes will represent their countries with a maximum of three per NOC and reserves.
Here is the Eventing Criteria.
The top two countries in team Eventing who are not already qualified will earn an Olympic team berth for three athlete and horse combinations. In the Pan American region, USA has secured a team eventing position based on their placing at the 2022 FEI World Championships in Herning. Following the FEI Eventing Olympic Qualification System and the selection criteria, athlete and horse combinations will have the opportunity to qualify at the events below.
Show Jumping
Mario Deslauriers and Bardolina 2
Photo Credit: Christophe Taniere
Show Jumping will see a total of 75 athletes from around the world competing in the show ring, with a maximum of three per country and reserves. Following the FEI Jumping Olympic Qualification System and the selection criteria, athlete and horse combinations will be selected to represent Canada.
The top three countries in the team jumping event will earn an Olympic team berth for three athletes and horses. No country from the Pan American region has yet qualified for Paris 2024 in team jumping. For those NOCs that do not qualify a jumping team can still qualify one individual. The top three eligible athletes in the individual event will each earn one quota spot for their country.
Here is a breakdown of events that are available for qualification:
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) updates their Paris 2024 Qualification Tracker and also shared all of the potential Olympic qualification pathways for all sports.