Understanding the distribution of Olympic spots | Golden Skate

Understanding the distribution of Olympic spots

lileychristie

lileychristie

Lee-lay
Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 17, 2022
Australia
Could someone please enlighten me in detail how the spots distribution for the 2026 Olympic works?

I have seen some people post their analysis here and there in various threads, and I'm just getting more and more confused 😵‍💫
I really only started following figure skating after the 2022 Olys, hence my lack of knowledge 😅

I did some googling and found some explanations in another site, but they were mainly about the 2022 Olys, and seems like there are some differences....?
For 2022 seemed like Nebelhorn was the final chance for countries to grab spots, is it still the case for 2026? What makes Nebelhorn special compared to other challengers? And for 2026, I keep hearing about 'Beijing Qualification Event' - what is this and how does it work with/without Nebelhorn? Was there no 'qualifying event' for 2022 Olys?

And how does all this relate to the Olys team event? I read that if a country qualifies a spot in 3 disciplines, they get to bring someone/some team from the 4th discipline for the team event - is this correct?

Thanks in advance!
 
For spots, what's available to be qualified where:
MenWomenIce DancePairs
Worlds24241916
Olympic Qualifying Event in Beijing5543

Nebelhorn was the additional Olympic qualifier prior to this season, but it's being replaced for next season by the event in Beijing. If any available spots aren't qualified at Worlds, they're added to the OQE to be qualified there (ie a country goes down from two spots to one spot in a discipline but both entries make the free that will add a spot to that discipline to be qualified at the OQE)

Since there are 24 spots available to be qualified in Singles, every country that had a skater qualify for the free qualified at least one spot. If they qualify for an additional spot (skater places top 10 and is the country's only entry), they will need to send another skater to the OQE to confirm that spot from the available spots to be qualified there. With Pairs and Ice Dance, there are more teams qualifying for the free than there are spots available to be qualified at Worlds.

For Team Event qualification, I made a thread here that I've been updating with points for it - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/2026-olympic-team-event-qualification.100342/

The points table will matter for the countries that have 3/4 disciplines qualified. There are five additional entry quotas for the team event and they're distributed based on the points earned for the Team Event. Those skaters will only skate in the Team Event and won't participate in the individual event. As the host country, Italy will be prioritized for them, but they are likely to qualify spots in all four disciplines and won't need to use them.
 
saine said:
For spots, what's available to be qualified where:
MenWomenIce DancePairs
Worlds24241916
Olympic Qualifying Event in Beijing5543

Nebelhorn was the additional Olympic qualifier prior to this season, but it's being replaced for next season by the event in Beijing. If any available spots aren't qualified at Worlds, they're added to the OQE to be qualified there (ie a country goes down from two spots to one spot in a discipline but both entries make the free that will add a spot to that discipline to be qualified at the OQE)

Since there are 24 spots available to be qualified in Singles, every country that had a skater qualify for the free qualified at least one spot. If they qualify for an additional spot (skater places top 10 and is the country's only entry), they will need to send another skater to the OQE to confirm that spot from the available spots to be qualified there. With Pairs and Ice Dance, there are more teams qualifying for the free than there are spots available to be qualified at Worlds.

For Team Event qualification, I made a thread here that I've been updating with points for it - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/2026-olympic-team-event-qualification.100342/

The points table will matter for the countries that have 3/4 disciplines qualified. There are five additional entry quotas for the team event and they're distributed based on the points earned for the Team Event. Those skaters will only skate in the Team Event and won't participate in the individual event.
Click to expand...
you beat me to it ;)

your post is simpler so i deleted mine before posting it ;)

For the OP and others :

what users may be confused about is the difference between O games and worlds

Worlds : there are the spots earn by ranking points but any country send ONE skater/team granted they have the minimums...

So, there can be 37 women or 28 dance teams at worlds based on that... but not at the Olympics.

The other kicker is when 2 teams from a country would earn 3 spots but they do not have a third team in the LP.

Let's take Pairs

USA for now, after the SP and if things don't change have 14 points and would qualify 2 entries for both worlds and O games

But what if they earned 13 points with their two entries? IN this case, they would earn 3 spots for worlds but only 2 for the Olympics. They would though be eligible to send a third pair team to the qualifying event.

Japan : most likely will qualify two spots for worlds... but their second team didn't make the LP so they will need to test the waters at the qualifying event....

ETC...

The main difference is that due to the limited spots at O games, a country cannot qualify multiple spots based only on ranking points... they have to have the same number of skaters also making the LP in order to earn these spots right away for the games.

Women examples :

Georgian and China didn't make the LP : they will have to qualify one spot at the qualifying event.
KOREA they came in with 3 spots. Right now, they are not in a position to earn those three spots... BUT they could if they move up the ranking which is not impossible at all.... but since Ahsun Yun didn't make the LP, they wouldn't automatically qualify 3 spots for the games (for worlds yes) ... they would need to send a skater to the OQE as well.

Belgium : Since Loena is injured, they only sent one skater who is a solid contender for the top ten = two spots. If that happens, Belgium will still need to send a skater to the OQE to earn that second spot since only one attended here. ETC


I hope this helps the OP... The "earning" your extra spot is really the very different thing here...
 
There are also skaters who will not get the Olympic spots because of not having or getting on time citizenship. If the Finns in pairs will place 16th or better, who will get that spot if and probably Finland does not have another pair with both having the citizenship? Filippo is not able to get citizenship in time as it is not a piece of cake here.
 
TT_Fin said:
There are also skaters who will not get the Olympic spots because of not having or getting on time citizenship. If the Finns in pairs will place 16th or better, who will get that spot if and probably Finland does not have another pair with both having the citizenship? Filippo is not able to get citizenship in time as it is not a piece of cake here.
Click to expand...
Finland does indeed not have another pairs team at the Senior level (there's an Advanced Novice pairs team).

Spots that can't be filled go back into the Qualifying event pool, either before it happens (if the federation informs the ISU immediately after earning the spot) or afterwards, in which case the next-highest placed, non-qualified NOC at the Qualifying competition will be given the spot instead.
 
Jumping_Bean said:
Finland does indeed not have another pairs team at the Senior level (there's an Advanced Novice pairs team).

Spots that can't be filled go back into the Qualifying event pool, either before it happens (if the federation informs the ISU immediately after earning the spot) or afterwards, in which case the next-highest placed, non-qualified NOC at the Qualifying competition will be given the spot instead.
Click to expand...
Ot, but I did not know about that novice pair. Back to topic or at least almost: There is a possibility in theory that some Finn single skaters will team up after noticing there is a possibility to get to Olympics - needs another good skate from M/F still though. I think it is not impossible in reality somebody to get the minimums and get used to skate pairs so quickly but there is a theoretic possibility. Dr. V tried pairs with Tilda Alterud but it was a short partnership. He had literally said Finns are too big for him, he needs tinier pair. I tried to think somebody who is not taller than 155 but I found out only Iida K who would be age eligible in seniors next season. But I think as she is technically the best women skater here at the moment (her TES reached in junior comps would have been enough for men in worlds) she has better possibility to make it in singles so I doubt she will not be an option. But there are several male skaters here now, so who knows.
 
Another question: As there are also some other countries with same citizenship problem as Finland has, does any of them has a possibility to send someone else? These are not personal spots for skaters the skaters earn, though, but spots for countries.
 
Jumping_Bean said:
While this is usually how it works out, technically, it is not guaranteed that everyone who made the Free qualifies for the Olympics.

For example, in pairs (yes, I know, fewer spots than FS qualifiers anyway, but definitely the discipline with the largest number of singular entries to exemplify the problem), based on current standings, it could turn out like this:

2 spots - JPN*, ITA, GER, GEO*, USA, HUN*, CAN, AUS*

In this case, every single one of the 16 spots up for grabs here will go to these 8 countries, with 4 spots being added to the Qualification event pool. Uzbekistan, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland would not qualify for the Olympics despite placing in the top 16 and neither GEO, HUN or AUS having a second Olympic-eligible pairs team.
Click to expand...

I think @saine's assertion was about Single disciplines and for these two events it is correct. It is not true for Pairs and Ice Dance because the Olympic spots to be assigned at Worlds are less than the number of skaters qualified for the FS/FD.

However, in your examples, Uzbekistan, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland would qualify an Olympic spot at Worlds. Japan, Georgia Hungary and Australia would have the right to send a skater to final Qualifying Competition. The spots at final OQE will remain 3 and not increase to 7.

Rule 400 says "Twenty-four entries for Women and Men, sixteen entries for Pairs and nineteen entries for Ice Dance will be determined according to the classification outlined in paragraph 2 above. ISU Members who have earned the necessary points according to Rule 378, paragraph 3. will have the right for two or three entries if, in addition, they had two, respectively three Skaters/Pairs/Couples qualified for the Free Skating/Free Dance in the World Senior Championships immediately preceding the OWG. The remaining entries under this paragraph 3 will be attributed to the ISU Members with the best placed and qualified for the Free Skating/Free Dance Skaters at the World Senior Championships immediately preceding the OWG"

However, it is true that being top 16 doesn't guarente a getting an Olympic spot at Worlds in Pairs.
For instance, at 2021 Worlds Paris end up as:
1) Russia
2) China
3) Russia
4) Russia
5) China
6) Canada
7) USA
8) Italy
9) USA
10) Japan
11) Austria
12) Canada
13) Germany
14) Hungary
15) Czechia
16) Georgia
17) Italy
18) Belarus
19) Israel
20) France

The 16 spots were assigned as follows
3 spots for Russia
2 spots for China + 1 entry at Nebelhorn (because 2+5=7 which would not be enough for a third spot. However there wasn't a third Chinese pair in the FS)
2 spots for Canada
2 spots for USA
2 spots for Italy (Ghilardi/Ambrosini were not in the top 16 but the rule only requires to be in the FS. Hence, the second Italian spot is immediately confirmed)
1 spot for Japan + 1 entry at Nebelhorn (10th was enough for 2 spots but there wasn't a second Japanese entry)

So that's 12 spots confirmed. 4 spots to be assigned at Worlds. So they went down the ranking
1 spot for Austria (11th in the standings)
12th was Canada which was already considered in the 2 spots
1 spot for Germany (13th)
1 spot for Hungary (14th)
1 spot for Czechia (15th)

16th in the standings didn't get a place because Italy had two places even if second pair was 17th (as it was qualified for the FS).
 
Also, here is something published by the ISU:

Road to Milano Cortina 2026: How Figure Skaters Secure Olympic Spots

The 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston will be the highlight of the Figure Skating season and the primary qualification event for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. A total of 142 skaters are competing at the Olympics next February. Total Quota Places for Milano...
isu-skating.com isu-skating.com
 
Oh so next season's GP will determine the team entries? Ok.

The numbers - 29 individual, 19 pairs, 23 dance just won't make sense to me.
 
pearly said:
Oh so next season's GP will determine the team entries? Ok.

The numbers - 29 individual, 19 pairs, 23 dance just won't make sense to me.
Click to expand...
Is one spot each reserved for Russians?
 
Thank you everyone for your answers, they definitely helped clarify a lot of things :thank:

I still have some further questions though~
How did the total number of Olympic spots get decided? The numbers seem very weird to me :scratch2:
  • Men: 29 spots (why not 30?)
  • Women: 29 spots (why not 30?)
  • Pairs: 19 spots (why not 20?)
  • Ice Dance: 23 spots (why not 24 or 25?)
With the qualifying event in Beijing, will the entries consists of only countries with disciplines that have a chance of earning extra spot?
And does that mean that each eligible country can only send 1 skater/team per eligible discipline, and that skater/team must be different to those who made the free in Boston?

And to grab those extra spots, the skater/team needs to place in top X with X being the number of available spots?

Did it work exactly the same with Nebelhorn for the 2022 Olympics? Is this Beijing qualifying event something newly introduced just for the 2026 Olys?
 
I believe the strange numbers are a consequence of the IOC wish to limit the total number of participating athletes at an OG. In 2014 and 2018 there were 30 spots for single's, 20 for pairs and 24 for Ice Dance, in 2022 only 19 for pairs and 23 for ID and 30 for both single disciplines which now have been reduced to 29. It makes no difference what so ever in the number of warm up groups!

In Beijing only one skater/couple per country can participate per discipline and only if they've either earned the possibility of getting an extra spot (like the USA who can aim for a 3rd sport in Pairs, or Japan who can try for a second spot in pairs) or they've not qualified a spot at Worlds at all. It worked like that at Nebelhorn (except for the total number which were slightly different as there were still 30 spots available at the OG last time). However, before Nebelhorn in 2021, the possibility to gain an extra spot was not a possibility but a given. So the USA would automatically have gotten their 3rd spot in pairs. On the other hand, The Netherlands now got a spot in pairs, and can now not participate in Beijing, as they've qualified already.
 
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lileychristie said:
I still have some further questions though~
How did the total number of Olympic spots get decided? The numbers seem very weird to me :scratch2:
  • Men: 29 spots (why not 30?)
  • Women: 29 spots (why not 30?)
  • Pairs: 19 spots (why not 20?)
  • Ice Dance: 23 spots (why not 24 or 25?)
Click to expand...
Direct quote from an ISU article (https://isu-skating.com/figure-skat...2026-how-figure-skaters-secure-olympic-spots/):

The total number of Figure Skating quota places for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games was reduced at the request of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

With the qualifying event in Beijing, will the entries consists of only countries with disciplines that have a chance of earning extra spot?
And does that mean that each eligible country can only send 1 skater/team per eligible discipline, and that skater/team must be different to those who made the free in Boston?
Click to expand...
I am not sure regarding the first part of your question (Nebelhorn was always open to other competitors as well). The countries who want to secure their second and third spots must send a skater different from the skater who secured the "secure" spots. For example, in pairs Japan has secured one spot and has a chance to earn a second, but a pair different than Myura/Kihara must do it.

However, the countries who did not secure a spot may send the same skater who did not succeed here. For example, France can send the Kovalevs.

And to grab those extra spots, the skater/team needs to place in top X with X being the number of available spots?
Click to expand...
Yes.
Did it work exactly the same with Nebelhorn for the 2022 Olympics? Is this Beijing qualifying event something newly introduced just for the 2026 Olys?
Click to expand...
Nebelhorn has been a standard competition in the ISU calendar for years and has served as the final qualifier for a while now. (It used to be the Golden Spin). But it was a regular competition in addition to that, so any country could send their skaters and the additional quota spots were awarded considering the final order only of the skaters who were eligible.
I believe the competition has been moved to Beijing this year in order to make eliminate any possible travel limitations for Russian/Belarus athletes.
 
Also, Nebelhorn is a Challenger, so skaters not aiming for an OG could also participate, though only for a placement and standing points, not for an Olympic Spot. In Beijing it will only be skaters/couples aiming for the available spots. So, in pairs there will be 3 spots available (only the top 3 will get them).
 
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