How to qualify in Aquatics

Team places

• Ties that put more than three teams in the top three at Budapest all qualify; places come off the Super Final.
• A continent with no 2027 championships gets its place from its best team at Budapest; if it had no team there, the place goes to the Super Final.
• Continental championships must be recognised by World Aquatics and send in their ranking.

Duet places

Per country

A country in both events has at most eight swimmers; the duet comes from the team. A duet-only country has two.

Who can swim

Born on or before 31 December 2013 (15 by the end of 2028).

Places turned down

The next team or duet at the 2028 Super Final; continental places go to the next team at the same championships.

Where the document disagrees with itself. If the United States turns down its host place, section F.2 gives it to the next team at the Pan American Games, which is not one of the qualification events.

Dates

Where to follow it

worldaquatics.com publishes the results.

Individual events

Continental competitions.

• One approved competition per continent.
• An event counts only if divers from at least three countries take part.
• Only the winner can earn a place; if the winner already has one, nobody does. A neutral World Aquatics delegate must be present.
• Even if the continental competition comes before the World Championships, the World Championships places are given first.

World Cup stops. Each diver's single best score in the event counts, from the furthest round reached. A finalist always ranks above a semi-finalist, who ranks above a diver who only made the preliminaries.

Every continent gets a man and a woman. If a continent has no diver in any individual event after the World Cup, World Aquatics reviews it and may give one place, based on the continent's best score without the degree of difficulty, if the diver met the minimum score.

Synchronised events

Synchronised events at the World Cup stops are straight finals. Ties in either kind of event go to the higher score without the degree of difficulty.

Counting divers

A diver in a synchronised pair and an individual event, or in two individual events, takes one place. The total is 136 (68 per gender, but the split can shift).

Who can dive

Born on or before 31 December 2014 (14 by the end of 2028).

Places turned down

The next eligible country from the same event in the World Cup phase. Diving has its own late-replacement rules up to the team leaders' meeting (individual) and 24 hours before the first synchronised event.

Dates

Where to follow it

worldaquatics.com publishes results and quota places.

Places (per gender)

• Ties in the top three at the World Championships all qualify.
• If the top-ranked swimmer is already in, or their country already has two, the next one gets the ranking place.
• Continental places: if a continent already has a swimmer in, its place goes to the next best finisher overall. Ties go to the World Aquatics world ranking.
• If the United States already has a swimmer in, the host place passes to the next best finisher.
• Swimmers already qualified are skipped in the results; their country's count still applies.

Who can swim

Born on or before 31 December 2014 (14 by the end of 2028).

The open water world ranking

The ranking used for the one ranking place counts each swimmer's best eight races over 24 months, weighted by the level of the race, the distance, the strength of the field and how long ago it was (see the aquatics ranking explainer).

Places turned down

The next best swimmer at the same event, within the limit of two per country.

Dates

Where to follow it

worldaquatics.com publishes the results and the ranking.

The A and B times (long course, 50 m pool)

The A times come from results at past Olympics and World Championships; each B time is the A time plus 1%.

The new 50 m events

• Direct places: three World Cup 2027 stops, each holding two of the new events. The top six in each final qualify (ties for sixth all qualify).
• Others can swim a new event only if they have already qualified in another event (A time, relay or B invitation) and have the minimum time above.

The order World Aquatics fills the 830 places

1. A-time swimmers and the new-event places.
2. Extra relay swimmers.
3. Universality places.
4. B-time invitations, until 830 is reached.

B-time invitations. If 28 or more places are left, one swimmer is invited in each of the 28 older individual events: the fastest B-time swimmer on the "modified world ranking" (each swimmer's best time from 1 March 2027 to 18 June 2028 at approved meets, at most two per country) who is not already in. If fewer than 28 places are left, those 28 swimmers are compared by world ranking position and the best go in. Ties are broken by how close the time is to the A time, then to the world record, then by World Aquatics points.

Extra events. An A-time swimmer can swim any other event where they have a B time. A swimmer with an A or B time in only one event can add one more event without a time.

Relays

• The 12 fastest teams in the heats of each relay at the 2027 World Championships in Budapest (swimming 10 to 18 July 2027). Ties for 12th all qualify.
• A qualified country can bring extra relay-only swimmers: two for one relay, up to eight for six or seven relays. Each must swim a heat or final of a relay.
• A country without a qualified relay can still enter one if it has four swimmers already qualified in individual events (notify by 24 June 2028).

Universality places

A country with no A-time swimmer, no qualified relay and no B-time invitation can enter one man and one woman. If its qualified swimmers are all one gender, it can add one of the other. The swimmer must:

• be the country's best man or woman on the World Aquatics points table in the qualification period;
• be at their first or second Olympics;
• be under 30 on 22 July 2028;
• have swum at the 2027 World Championships, the World Cup 2027, their 2027 continental championships (for India, the 2027 Asian Aquatics Championships) or a scholarship programme.

Where the document disagrees with itself. Section B gives the quota as "To be confirmed" next to 830; the Terminology Annex fixes it at 830. The tie-break steps are numbered so that step 5 refers to "after point 5" and step 6 to "after point 6"; each means the step before.

Dates

Where to follow it

worldaquatics.com runs an online tracker of who has qualified in each event.

The rules for each route

• World Cup and World Championships: if a team already has a place (or is the host), the next one takes it.
• Continental: the best team in each continental championships or qualification event not already in. If an event is not held, the continent's best team at the World Qualifier gets the place. If a continent has only one team, it qualifies. If a continent has no team, the place goes to the next team at the 2027 World Championships.
• World Qualifier 2028: two tournaments (3 to 9 and 17 to 23 April 2028); entry rules are in the World Aquatics competition regulations.

Who can play

14 or older on 31 December 2028.

Places turned down

The next team in the final standings of the 2027 World Championships.

Dates

Where to follow it

worldaquatics.com publishes results and the water polo world ranking.