Have you ever wondered how open water swimmers qualify for the 10km Marathon Swim at the Olympics? We delve into the details of the Australian qualification process.
Do you watch the Olympics every four years and wonder how athletes qualify to represent their countries on the world’s biggest stage?
We do, too!
To start with, each sport and country has its unique qualification process for athletes to earn a spot on their respective teams.
When it comes to Australia’s Olympic 10km marathon swimming team, we delved into the details to uncover the journey our Aussie athletes undertook to qualify for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games and the specific criteria they had to meet.
The qualification process for the Olympic 10-kilometre marathon swim begins the year before the Summer Olympics at the World Aquatics Championships and continues at the Olympic Marathon Swim Qualification meet, held the same year as the Olympics.
In this Olympic cycle, the top three medalists in the 10-kilometre event at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, earned automatic qualification for their respective Olympic teams.
Moving forward to 2024, swimmers who missed automatic qualification in 2023 had another chance to qualify at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar. Here, the top 13 finishers in the 10-kilometre event secured their spots. Additionally, one representative from each FINA continent (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania), totalling five swimmers, also qualified.
Furthermore, the host nation of each Olympic Games, this year France, is allocated one position for its athletes if they have not qualified by other means. If one or more French open water swimmers qualify directly, their slots are reallocated to the next highest-ranked eligible swimmers from the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
It’s important to note that before Australian swimmers can compete at the World Aquatics Championships, they must participate in the Australian Open Water Swimming Championships. The top performers at this meet are then selected to represent Australia at the World Aquatics Championships and other international qualifying events, beginning their journey toward making the Olympic team.
Swimming Australia, the sport’s governing body sets the specific selection criteria and performance standards that swimmers must meet. Additionally, swimmers must fulfil any requirements established by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).
These performance standards include qualifying times or positions at national championships and international events.
Following the qualification events, Swimming Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) review the performances and select the athletes representing Australia in the 10-kilometre marathon swim at the Olympics.
The selected swimmers are then officially announced a few months before the Games.
2023 World Championships – 3 swimmers qualified
2024 World Championships – 15 swimmers qualified
2024 World Championships (Africa Continent) – 1 swimmer qualified
2024 World Championships – (Americas Continent) – 1 swimmer qualified
2024 World Championships – (Asia Continent) – 1 swimmer qualified
2024 World Championships – (Europe Continent) – 1 swimmer qualified
Total Swimmers: 22
2023 World Championships – 3 swimmers qualified
2024 World Championships – 15 swimmers qualified
2024 World Championships (Africa Continent) – 1 swimmer qualified
2024 World Championships – (Americas Continent) – 1 swimmer qualified
2024 World Championships – (Asia Continent) – 1 swimmer qualified
2024 World Championships – (Europe Continent) – 1 swimmer qualified
Total Swimmers: 22
° Unused host quota place
^Unused continental quota place
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