How to qualify in Fencing
How fencers qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Fencing at Los Angeles 2028 has 12 events: individual and team foil, épée and sabre, for men and for women. There are 212 places.
Qualifying runs from 1 April 2027 to 30 April 2028, so nothing is decided yet. Everything turns on the FIE rankings of 1 April 2028.
Teams come first. Eight teams of three qualify in each team event: the top four on the team ranking, then the best team from each zone (Asia-Oceania is one zone). A country with a team also gets those three fencers into the individual event.
Then individuals: ten more places in each individual event, one per country, for countries without a team:
- two for the best-ranked fencers left on the world ranking;
- four for the best-ranked fencer from each zone;
- four for the winners of zonal qualifying tournaments in April 2028.
An Indian fencer without a team behind them can qualify through the world ranking, the Asia-Oceania ranking place or the Asia-Oceania qualifying tournament.
The places
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team qualification (8 teams × 3, three weapons) | 72 | 72 | 144 |
| Individual qualification (10 per weapon) | 30 | 30 | 60 |
| Host country | 6 | ||
| Universality | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 212 |
Per country: up to nine per gender, with one team of three per team event. No more than three fencers per weapon. Each individual event has 34 to 37 fencers; each team event 8 or 9 teams.
Who owns a place. Team places and host places go to the country; individual places go to the fencer by name.
Who can fence: the FIE minimum age (Organisation Rules o.29.1) and the FIE statutes and rules.
Team qualification (per weapon, per gender)
| Route | Teams |
|---|---|
| FIE senior team ranking of 1 April 2028: top four, any zone | 4 |
| The best team from each zone (Africa, Americas, Asia-Oceania, Europe) ranked 5th to 24th | 4 |
If a zone has no team between 5th and 24th, its place goes to the next team on the ranking, from any zone. The team ranking counts Team World Cups, the World Championships and zonal championships from 1 April 2027 to 1 April 2028.
Individual qualification (per weapon, per gender)
Only for countries without a team in that weapon, one fencer each.
| Route | Places |
|---|---|
| Adjusted Official Ranking (AOR) of 1 April 2028: the two best | 2 |
| AOR by zone: the best from each zone, for countries with nobody in yet | 4 |
| Zonal qualifying tournaments (2 to 30 April 2028): the winner in each zone | 4 |
The Adjusted Official Ranking is the FIE individual ranking (Grand Prix, World Cups, satellites, World Championships and zonal championships from 1 April 2027 to 1 April 2028) with team fencers removed and only each country's best fencer kept.
The host country
The United States gets six places to spread across events as it chooses, within the limits. A team costs it two places if it already has one fencer in that individual event, or three if it has none.
Universality places
Two, one per gender. The IOC invites requests on 1 October 2027, with a deadline of 15 January 2028.
Places turned down
| Place | Goes to |
|---|---|
| Team, top four | The next team on the team ranking |
| Team, zone | The next team from that zone |
| AOR | The next fencer on the AOR whose country has nobody in that weapon |
| AOR by zone | The next fencer from that zone |
| Zonal tournament | The next fencer at that tournament |
| Unused host places | Shared between the FIE (to the next on the AOR, any weapon) and the Tripartite Commission (as universality places), for example three and three if all six are unused |
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 April 2027 | Qualifying period opens |
| 1 October 2027 to 15 January 2028 | Universality requests |
| 1 April 2028 | FIE rankings close |
| 2 to 30 April 2028 | Zonal qualifying tournaments |
| 8 May 2028 | The FIE confirms places |
| 19 May 2028 | The United States names its host events |
| 21 to 25 May 2028 | Universality places confirmed |
| 31 May 2028 | Countries confirm |
| 1 June 2028 | Reallocation |
| 25 June 2028 | Countries name their team fencers |
| 26 June 2028 | Entries deadline for the Games |
| 14 to 30 July 2028 | LA28 Olympic Games |
Where to follow it
fie.org publishes the rankings and, by 8 May 2028, the qualified fencers and teams.