How to qualify in Shooting
How shooters qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Shooting at Los Angeles 2028 has 340 places, 170 for men and 170 for women, across 12 individual events and three mixed team events.
Most places are won at named competitions between 31 July 2026 and 1 May 2028. At each one, a set number of Olympic "quota places" goes to the best-placed shooters whose countries have not already filled them. The first is the World Championship in Doha, Qatar, in November 2026.
Three things decide who can win one:
- A minimum score. Every Olympic shooter must have shot the Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) in qualification at one of these competitions, and a quota place counts only if the shooter's score there was at or above it.
- One place per shooter. A shooter who has already won a place cannot win another; it passes to the next shooter.
- Two per country per event. A country can have at most two shooters in an individual event, and only one place per event can come from a World Championship.
The place usually belongs to the country, not to the shooter who won it, so the country chooses who uses it. The exceptions are places from the Olympic Ranking and universality places, which belong to the shooter by name.
India hosts two of the qualifying competitions: a World Cup in New Delhi in April 2027 and the Asian Championship (rifle and pistol) there in December 2027.
The places
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quota places (individual events) | 158 | 158 | 316 |
| Host country | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Universality places | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Total | 170 | 170 | 340 |
At most 12 men and 12 women per country (24 in all), and two per individual event. The mixed team events (10m air rifle, 10m air pistol and trap) use shooters already qualified in the matching individual events, with up to two teams per country.
The minimum qualification scores
| Men | MQS | Women | MQS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10m air rifle | 613.0 | 10m air rifle | 613.0 |
| 50m rifle three positions | 569 | 50m rifle three positions | 567 |
| 10m air pistol | 565 | 10m air pistol | 560 |
| 25m rapid fire pistol | 565 | 25m pistol | 565 |
| Trap | 110 | Trap | 100 |
| Skeet | 112 | Skeet | 106 |
An MQS can be shot only in the elimination or qualification round of an Olympic event, between 31 July 2026 and 1 May 2028, at one of these: a World Championship, World Cup or World Cup Final, a Grand Prix, a continental championship or games, or a specially designated competition. There is no age limit.
Where the places are won
| Route | Places | Per event |
|---|---|---|
| World Championships (Doha 2026 for all; Daegu 2027 rifle and pistol; Cairo 2027 shotgun) | 72 | 6 |
| World Cups (seven in 2027, including New Delhi) | 48 | 4 |
| Asia (five championships, 2027 and 2028) | 54 | 4 or 5 |
| Europe | 60 | 5 |
| Americas | 42 | 3 or 4 |
| Africa (African Games) | 16 | 1 or 2 |
| Oceania | 12 | 1 |
| Olympic Ranking (1 May 2028) | 12 | 1 |
| Host country | 12 | 1 |
| Universality | 12 | 1 |
| Total | 340 | 28 or 29 |
Asia in detail
| Competition | Places |
|---|---|
| Asian Championship, rifle and pistol, New Delhi, 1 to 10 December 2027 | 8 (one in each rifle and pistol event) |
| Asian Championship, shotgun, Xi'an (China), 1 to 11 November 2027 | 4 (one in each shotgun event) |
| Asian Championship, rifle, pistol and shotgun, Doha, 5 to 18 January 2028 | 20 (two in each rifle and pistol event, one in each shotgun event) |
| Asian Championship, shotgun, Kuwait City, 17 to 25 March 2028 | 8 (two in each shotgun event) |
| Asian Championship, rifle and pistol, Shymkent (Kazakhstan), 16 to 29 April 2028 | 14 (two in most rifle and pistol events; one in 25m rapid fire and 25m pistol) |
The World Championships and World Cups
| Competition | When | Places per event |
|---|---|---|
| World Championship, Doha | 1 to 14 November 2026 | 3 in every event |
| World Cup, Acapulco (shotgun) | 11 to 20 March 2027 | 1 |
| World Cup, New Delhi (rifle, pistol, shotgun) | 21 to 30 April 2027 | 1 |
| World Cup, Munich (rifle, pistol) | 22 to 29 May 2027 | 1 |
| World Cup, Lonato (shotgun) | 3 to 13 June 2027 | 1 |
| World Cup, Baku (rifle, pistol) | 15 to 23 July 2027 | 1 |
| World Cup, Hangzhou (shotgun) | 3 to 12 September 2027 | 1 |
| World Championship, Cairo (shotgun) | 23 September to 2 October 2027 | 3 |
| World Cup, Rome (rifle, pistol) | 5 to 14 October 2027 | 1 |
| World Championship, Daegu (rifle, pistol) | 28 October to 9 November 2027 | 3 |
How a place is awarded at a competition
- Places go to the highest-placed shooters in the final, then, if the finalists are used up, by the qualification ranking.
- A shooter who already has a place, or whose country already has two in that event (one at a World Championship), is skipped; the place goes to the next shooter.
- The shooter's score at that competition must be at or above the MQS.
- At most three shooters from one country can be in a final.
The Olympic Ranking: 12 places
The ISSF's Olympic Ranking adds up each shooter's ten best results at the qualifying competitions (the shooting ranking page explains the points). On 1 May 2028, one place in each event goes to the highest-ranked shooter not yet qualified in any event, as long as their country has no more than one place in that event. A shooter top of more than one event gets the place in the event where they have the most points. Ties are broken by the best single result, then the final score, then the qualification score.
Host country and universality
- Host: the United States has one man and one woman in each individual event, if they have shot the MQS, unless it has already won a place in that event.
- Universality: 12 places (six per gender) for eligible countries. The IOC invites requests on 1 October 2027; the deadline is 15 January 2028. The Tripartite Commission decides after the qualifying period.
Changing and returning places
- A shooter with a place can also shoot a second individual event as a "double starter" if they have the MQS in it and the country has room. If a country then has a spare place in that event, it must give it back by 21 May 2028.
- A country can swap one place in one event for one in another event of the same gender, if a place is available (not Olympic Ranking places), by 21 May 2028.
- Places not confirmed by 21 May 2028 go to the next shooter in the Olympic Ranking from a country with no shooting place yet; a place from a continental competition stays in that continent. Returned host places go first to the Americas.
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 31 July 2026 | Qualifying period opens |
| 1 to 14 November 2026 | World Championship, Doha (first places) |
| 21 April 2027 onwards | World Cup, New Delhi |
| 1 to 10 December 2027 | Asian Championship, rifle and pistol, New Delhi |
| 1 May 2028 | Qualifying period ends; Olympic Ranking published |
| 7 May 2028 | ISSF confirms places to countries |
| 21 May 2028 | Countries confirm their places |
| 11 June 2028 | ISSF reallocates unused places |
| 26 June 2028 | Entries deadline for the Games |
| 14 to 30 July 2028 | LA28 Olympic Games |
Two things to note in the document. The European Championship 25/50m in Osijek runs from 26 April to 7 May 2028, past the end of the qualifying period on 1 May. And the African Games, which carry Africa's 16 places, have no date yet.
Where to follow it
The ISSF publishes the list of quota places and the Olympic Ranking on issf-sports.org.