How to qualify in Para judo
How para judoka qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics
Para judo at LA28 has 16 medal events and 144 places (72 men, 72 women). Judoka are split by sight class (J1, blind, and J2, partially sighted) and by weight:
| Men | Women |
|---|---|
| J1 and J2: -70 kg, -81 kg, -95 kg, +95 kg | J1 and J2: -52 kg, -60 kg, -70 kg, +70 kg |
Places go to the judoka, and almost all come from one list: the IBSA Judo World Ranking at 16 June 2028, counting results from 1 July 2026. The top six to nine in each event (see below) qualify, with one judoka per country per event.
The United States gets a host place in each event where it entered someone at the 2027 World Championships. Seven men and seven women are invited.
To be eligible, a judoka must be born before 1 January 2015, be internationally classified before 16 June 2028, hold an IBSA licence for 2028, and have fought at least one IBSA para judo competition in the same category between 1 July 2026 and 16 June 2028.
Places by route
| Route | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| IBSA Judo World Ranking at 16 June 2028 | 57 | 57 |
| Host (United States) | 8 | 8 |
| Bipartite Commission Invitations | 7 | 7 |
| Total | 72 | 72 |
Ranking places in each event
| Men | Places | Women | Places |
|---|---|---|---|
| J1 -70 kg | 9 | J1 -52 kg | 9 |
| J1 -81 kg | 8 | J1 -60 kg | 8 |
| J1 -95 kg | 7 | J1 -70 kg | 6 |
| J1 +95 kg | 6 | J1 +70 kg | 6 |
| J2 -70 kg | 8 | J2 -52 kg | 7 |
| J2 -81 kg | 7 | J2 -60 kg | 7 |
| J2 -95 kg | 6 | J2 -70 kg | 7 |
| J2 +95 kg | 6 | J2 +70 kg | 7 |
| Total | 57 | Total | 57 |
A country can have one judoka per event and at most eight men and eight women. When a country already has its judoka in an event, the place passes to the next judoka on the list from another country. Places that cannot be filled from the ranking go out as invitations.
Qualifying competitions are Grand Prix, World Cups, continental championships and games (such as the Asian Para Games) and the World Championships.
The host
The United States gets one place in each event where it entered at least one judoka at the 2027 IBSA Judo World Championships. The place goes to its best-ranked judoka in that event who has not already qualified. Unused host places go out as invitations.
Invitations
Seven men and seven women; applications to IBSA from 16 June to 9 July 2028.
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 | Ranking period opens |
| 5 May 2028 | Accreditation Long List due |
| 16 June 2028 | Ranking closes; invitation applications open |
| 2 July 2028 | IBSA confirms ranking and host places |
| 9 July 2028 | Countries confirm; invitation applications close |
| 16 July 2028 | Reallocation and invitations announced; countries declare use |
| 24 July 2028 | Sport entries close |
A place a country does not use goes to the next judoka in that event whose country has no place there; if there is none, it goes out as an invitation. After 16 July 2028 unused places go back to the IPC.
Where the document is unclear
- The chapter is numbered 17, the same as goalball; the contents list numbers it 18.
- The rule on the number of places per country ends with a garbled phrase ("one (1) slot allowed per medal event qualification slots"); read with the entries rule, it means one judoka per event.