With 41 medals awarded at the 2028 Summer Olympics, Swimming has the second-most of any Olympic sport, behind Athletics.

While the Athletics qualification routes are yet to be released, the IOC has released the Swimming Qualification routes for athletes looking to compete in any individual or relay events, with at least four medals awarded daily from July 22-30, 2028.

However, swimmers will have to wait almost a year for the qualification window to open, with entry standard qualifying times to be achieved between 1 March 2027 and 18 June 2028.

Entry Numbers and New Events

In total, 830 swimmers will qualify for the 2028 Olympics, a slight reduction from previous Games to balance the new events

The addition of 50m Backstroke, 50m Breaststroke, and 50m Butterfly for both men and women, will bring the total to 41 swimming events

Each country may enter a maximum of 26 men and 26 women (52 total), with a limit of 2 athletes per event.

The A Entry Standard

The easiest way for a swimmer to punch their ticket to Los Angeles in their respective event is to achieve the ‘A Entry Standard’.

According to the IOC, these times are derived from results and data from previous Olympic Games and World Championships.

Swimmers must achieve this time at an approved qualification event, such as the 2027 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, or at other events, such as national and continental championships or Olympic trials.

However, this doesn’t automatically get them a spot at the Olympics. Their National Olympic Committee must still nominate them.

For those aiming to qualify, the A Entry Standards are still lofty targets. For example, the Men’s 50m freestyle A Entry Standard time is 21.69, while the slowest swimmer in the 2024 Olympic final ran 21.64.

In the women’s 1,500m freestyle, in which Katie Ledecky set a new Olympic Record, the A Entry Standard time is 16:08.65, a time good enough to finish eighth and last in the 2024 Olympic final.

The A Entry Standard time may get them there, but it’s not a “goal time” for the Olympics themselves. For the men’s 2028 A Entry Standard times, that time would have been good enough to make 11 of the 14 finals at the last Olympics, but would have seen the swimmer finish seventh or eighth (last).

In the Women’s Swimming, the A Entry Standard wasn’t enough to get into 8/14 finals and would have seen you finish seventh or last in all but two of them

Relay Qualification Places

Each NOC may enter one team in each of the seven relays.

12 teams will qualify directly for the 2027 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. This will be based on the 12 fastest performances in the heats. Once qualified, the place is allocated to the NOC not the athletes themselves.

Once qualified, the NOC populates its relay teams using athletes already qualified, and a number of Additional Relay Competitors, up to a maximum of eight if qualified for 6 or more relay events.

These Additional Relay competitors may also enter individual events at the Olympics, providing they have achieved at least the B Entry standard (more on that later) and that the NOC maximum of two athletes per individual event is not exceeded

Universality Places

Any NOC may apply for up to two universality places (one man and one woman) if the NOC has no athlete who has achieved an A or B Entry Standard and no qualified relay team.

The athlete must have competed in at least one major event from a list including the 2027 World Aquatics Championships, the 2027 Continental championships, or the 2027 World Cup.

Additionally, the athlete must meet other eligibility conditions. It must be their first or second Olympic Games, and they must be younger than 30 on the first day of the swimming programme at the Games (July 22, 2028)

The athletes must also be the highest-ranked individuals from their NOC in the event that the NOC is entering them.

The B Entry Standard

The last route for swimmers to qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics is by achieving the B Entry Standard.

If after all A Entry Standard, Relay qualification, and Universality places have been awarded, there are remaining places in the 830-athlete quota, the remaining quota places will be awarded to those who have achieved a B Entry Standard, a time 1% slower than the A Entry Standard.

New Swimming Events

Unlike other events, the new stroke 50s (Back, Breast, Fly) have a unique “direct-to-athlete” qualification route

At each of the three World Cup 2027 stops, competitions in two of the new events will be held/

The top six finishers in the finals at designated 2027 World Cup stops earn an automatic invitation to LA28.

This ensures these new events do not “over-fill” the 830-athlete limit. If an athlete is already qualified in another event (e.g., the 100m Breast), they can also swim the 50m if they meet a minimum entry time.

If an athlete has already qualified, they can also enter any of the new events as long as they meet the Minimum Time Standard and the NOC hasn’t exceeded the limit of two athletes per event.