Learn › Track 08 · Road to the Olympics

Road to LA28

The LA28 final is 24 shots long. The race to get into it lasts far longer, and the first places are handed out at the Doha World Championship in November 2026.

Think first: The first LA28 air pistol places are won at Doha in November 2026. Roughly how many months is that before the Games in July 2028?

The road, step by step

  • 31 Jul 2026 — Window opens — From now, MQS scores count, and results feed the Olympic Ranking.
  • 1–14 Nov 2026 — Doha World Championship — First quota event: 3 places per sex. Max 1 per nation per event.
  • 3–8 Dec 2026 — World Cup Final, Rome — An approved event for shooting the MQS.
  • 2027 — Four World Cups: New Delhi, Baku, Munich, Rome — 1 place per sex at each.
  • 2027 — Daegu World Championship (Rifle/Pistol) — 3 places per sex. Max 1 per nation per event.
  • 1 Oct 2027 — Universality invitations — The IOC invites NOCs to request universality places.
  • 15 Jan 2028 — Universality requests due — Requests for a universality place must be in.
  • by 1 May 2028 — Continental qualification — Asia 5, Europe 5, Americas 3, Africa 2, Oceania 1 places per sex.
  • 1 May 2028 — Window closes — Last day for MQS scores and Olympic Ranking results.
  • 21 May 2028 — NOCs confirm — Each NOC confirms which places it will use.
  • 11 Jun 2028 — Reallocation — Unused places are reallocated.
  • 14–30 Jul 2028 — LA28 Olympic Games — LA28 · 14–30 Jul 2028

Dates are as of October 2026. Exact dates for the 2027 World Cups, the Daegu World Championship and the continental events are not in this course; check the ISSF calendar.

Read the timeline like a planner

The timeline has three phases. Phase one is the world events: two World Championships and four World Cups, 10 places in all, spread from November 2026 to the end of 2027. Phase two is continental qualification, 16 places, which must finish by 1 May 2028. Phase three is paperwork: confirmation, reallocation and selection, from May to the Games.

Think first: You are a contender for a place. When is the first competition your season should peak for?

  • The Doha World Championship, November 2026
  • The first World Cup of 2027
  • Only the Games, July 2028

That planning problem is the subject of Building a four-year cycle.

Late in the window

As the window closes, options shrink. By early 2028 the World Championships and World Cups are over, and the universality deadline has passed.

Think first: It is February 2028. You have the MQS, but your NOC has no place. Which routes might still be open?

  • The World Cups and the World Championship
  • Any continental qualification event not yet held, and the Olympic Ranking until 1 May
  • None: all places were fixed at the end of 2027

After the window

Places won are not final until the NOC confirms them. A place an NOC does not use does not vanish.

Think first: An NOC tells the organisers on 20 May 2028 that it will not use one of its air pistol places. What happens to the place?

  • It is lost, and the event runs with one shooter fewer
  • It is reallocated, by 11 June 2028
  • It automatically goes to the host nation
  • The window runs from 31 Jul 2026 to 1 May 2028. The first places are won at Doha in November 2026.
  • World events (10 places) end in 2027. Continental qualification (16 places) must finish by 1 May 2028.
  • Universality: invitations 1 Oct 2027, requests by 15 Jan 2028.
  • NOCs confirm by 21 May 2028. Unused places are reallocated by 11 June 2028. Games: 14–30 Jul 2028.

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