How to qualify in Wrestling
How wrestlers qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Wrestling at Los Angeles 2028 has 288 places in 18 weight categories: six each in men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle. Each category has 16 wrestlers, and a country can send one per category.
There are four chances to win a place, in this order:
- The 2027 World Championships in Las Vegas (11 to 19 September 2027). The four medallists in each Olympic weight (gold, silver and two bronzes) win a place for their country.
- The UWW ranking. After that, the top three in the ranking who have not already qualified win a place. The ranking counts each wrestler's best five results from seven events across 2027 and early 2028.
- Continental qualifying tournaments in March and April 2028. The top two in each weight win a place. Asia, Europe and the Americas hold one tournament each; Africa and Oceania share one.
- A world qualifying tournament in May 2028 for countries that still have no wrestling place at all. The winner of each weight qualifies.
There are no host places: the United States has to qualify like everyone else. Places belong to the country, not the wrestler who won them.
For Indian wrestlers, the Asian route runs through the Asian Championships in 2027 and 2028 (which count for the ranking) and the Asian qualifying tournament on 14 to 16 April 2028.
The places
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight categories | 12 (6 freestyle, 6 Greco-Roman) | 6 (freestyle) | 18 |
| Places | 192 | 96 | 288 |
| Host country places | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Weights. Men's freestyle 57, 65, 74, 86, 97 and 125 kg. Greco-Roman 60, 67, 77, 87, 97 and 130 kg. Women's freestyle 50, 53, 57, 62, 68 and 76 kg.
Who can wrestle. Born on or before 31 December 2010, and holding a licence from their national federation, recorded in the UWW database.
Phase 1: the 2027 World Championships (72 places)
The four medallists in each of the 18 Olympic weights (48 men, 24 women). Only countries that took part in the 2027 continental championships can enter the World Championships, with the same number of wrestlers per style.
Phase 2: the UWW ranking (54 places)
The top three in each weight who did not qualify in phase 1 (36 men, 18 women). The ranking for this counts each wrestler's five best results (most points) out of seven events:
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| 2027 continental championships (Asian: 30 March to 4 April 2027) | March to May 2027 |
| 2027 Ranking Series, three events | February, June and July 2027 |
| 2027 World Championships | September 2027 |
| 2028 Ranking Series, one event | 17 to 23 January 2028 |
| 2028 continental championships (Asian: 6 to 12 March 2028) | February and March 2028 |
Continental games may be added. To keep things fair for continents without games in the ranking, only one continental event counts per year: a wrestler cannot count both the continental championships and the games in the same year, only the better of the two. The points come from the UWW ranking rules (see the wrestling ranking page).
Phase 3: continental qualifying tournaments (144 places)
The top two in each weight at each tournament (24 men and 12 women per tournament).
| Tournament | Date |
|---|---|
| Africa and Oceania | 24 to 26 March 2028 |
| Americas | 31 March to 2 April 2028 |
| Europe | 7 to 9 April 2028 |
| Asia | 14 to 16 April 2028 |
A wrestler who already won a place in phase 1 or 2 cannot enter, unless in another style. A country cannot send anyone in a weight where it already has a place.
Phase 4: the world qualifying tournament (18 places)
18 to 21 May 2028. Only countries with no place in any style so far may enter, and only two wrestlers in all. The winner of each weight qualifies (12 men, 6 women).
Universality places
None are set aside. They can be offered when places are reallocated (below). The IOC invites requests on 1 October 2027 with a deadline of 15 January 2028.
Places turned down
| Phase | Goes to |
|---|---|
| World Championships or a continental qualifier | The next-placed wrestler at the same event whose country has not qualified in that weight; if the weight had fewer than eight wrestlers, a universality place |
| Ranking | The next-ranked eligible wrestler |
| World qualifier | A universality place |
| An unused universality place | The next-ranked wrestler of that weight in the ranking not yet qualified |
Countries have two weeks to confirm each place.
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | Qualifying period opens |
| 11 to 19 September 2027 | World Championships, Las Vegas (72 places) |
| 22 September and 6 October 2027 | UWW confirms World Championships places; countries confirm |
| 26 January and 9 February 2028 | UWW confirms ranking places; countries confirm |
| 24 March to 16 April 2028 | Continental qualifying tournaments |
| 19 April and 3 May 2028 | UWW confirms Asian places; countries confirm |
| 18 to 21 May 2028 | World qualifying tournament |
| 28 May 2028 | Qualifying period ends |
| 16 and 21 June 2028 | Reallocation, and confirmation of reallocated places |
| 26 June 2028 | Entries deadline for the Games |
| 14 to 30 July 2028 | LA28 Olympic Games |
A date that does not fit. The timeline has the UWW confirming the ranking places on 26 January 2028. But the ranking also counts the 2028 continental championships, held from 18 February to 19 March 2028. Section E says ranking places are final "right after the last events included in the UWW Rankings". Until the UWW settles it, expect the ranking places to be confirmed after the 2028 continental championships.
Where to follow it
uww.org publishes results, the ranking and each country's places.