Olympic qualification

Olympic qualification is the set of rules and selection processes through which athletes and teams earn places at the Olympic Games. It combines event results, ranking systems, quotas, and selection decisions.

Olympic quota: A numerical limit on how many athletes or teams may compete in an Olympic event or for a national delegation. Quotas cap the places that qualification systems distribute.
International Olympic Committee: The organization that leads the Olympic Movement and oversees the Olympic Games. It approves the Games program and the framework within which qualification operates.
Athletics at the Olympics: The Olympic program of track and field, road running, and race walking events. Athletics commonly combines entry standards with limits on national representation.
Olympic trials: A competition used by a national sports body to select athletes for an Olympic team. Trials may choose among athletes who have already met international qualification requirements.
Olympic qualification tournament: A competition whose results award places at the Olympic Games. Some sports allocate Olympic places directly through designated tournaments.
International sports federation: A global governing body responsible for organizing and regulating a sport internationally. Federations usually design sport-specific qualification systems for Olympic events.
Swimming at the Olympics: The Olympic pool-swimming program, contested across strokes, distances, and relays. Swimming uses qualifying times and limits on entries per country.
World Championships: The highest-level international championship competitions organized by a sport's governing body. A world title does not necessarily confer an Olympic place.
World ranking: An ordered comparison of competitors based on results under a specified scoring system. Rankings can award Olympic places when direct qualification events do not fill quotas.
National Olympic Committee: A national organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee to represent its country in the Olympic Movement. National committees submit entries and coordinate their delegations under Olympic rules.

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