Swimming Canada has released its selection process for the 2024 Olympic Games while also unveiling the dates of next year’s Olympic Trials.
The 2024 Olympic Trials have been penciled in for May 13-19, though the date is listed as “TBC” (to be confirmed). If that scheduling holds up, it will make the Trials later in the calendar than usual, as Canada’s annual selection meets have typically run in April.
The 2023 World Trials, for example, took place in late March/early April. The 2021 Olympic Trials meet got pushed back to June due to the COVID pandemic, though the Tokyo selection came with the caveat that some athletes were named to the Olympic team prior to the Trials.
2024 OLYMPIC SELECTION POLICY – POOL SWIMMING
The Olympic selection procedure will follow the same guidelines Swimming Canada has used in previous years, with the top two swimmers in each event earning automatic qualification to the team provided they’re under the Olympic qualifying time (OQT).
The top-four finishers in the 100 and 200 freestyle will also qualify for relay purposes, while the winners of the 100m stroke events will be in a position to be added to the team for the 400 medley relay should they not have already qualified.
There will also be room for a swimmer who places top-two in an event at the Trials but does not achieve the OQT, but has done so inside the qualification period, to get named to the team.
Swimming Canada will also be able to make discretionary additions for relays.
Priorities
- Priority 1: The first and second placed Swimmers in the A final and achieving the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT) (appendix A) at the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials, will be nominated. For Time Finals, all performance will be considered and the first and second placed Swimmers achieving the OQT at the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials will be nominated.
- Priority 2: For freestyle relays that earned qualification to the Olympic Games, in accordance with the Qualification System, the top four (4) placed Swimmers in the 100m and the top four (4) place Swimmers in the 200m Freestyle in the A final at the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials will be nominated.
- Priority 3: For the women’s and men’s medley relays that earned qualification to the Olympic Games, in accordance with the Qualification System, where there has not been a Swimmer nominated in the male or female 100m Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and/or Freestyle events in Priorities 1 and 2, the first placed Swimmers in the A final will be nominated for the appropriate relay.
- Priority 4: The Swimming Canada Selection Committee has the discretion to nominate eligible swimmers to enhance relays based on the recommendation of the High Performance Director.
- Priority 5: Where an event has no qualifiers or only one qualifier with the OQT (appendix A) from the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials, a Swimmer who has achieved the OQT within the qualification period (March 1, 2023-June 23, 2024) and finishes in the top 2 in the event, at the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials, shall be nominated, to a maximum of two OQT Swimmers per event.
- Priority 6: In an event that currently does not have any nominations through Priorities 1 to 5, the event winner who has achieved the Olympic Consideration Time (OCT) (appendix A), and achieves a time at the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials that is within 1% of their fastest time achieved in the qualification period (March 1, 2023- June 23, 2024) will be provisionally nominated. These provisional nominations are subject to World Aquatics approval and invitation.
PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TIMES
2024 OLYMPIC SELECTION POLICY – OPEN WATER SWIMMING
Swimming Canada will follow the qualification process put in place by World Aquatics to nominate its open water team for the 2024 Olympics.
The top three swimmers in the 10km event at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka will qualify for the Olympics in open water, while the top-13 swimmers (excluding those already qualified) at the 2024 Worlds in Doha will also book a ticket to Paris.
Priorities
- Priority 1: Any swimmer who receives a qualifying invitation for Paris 2024 from World Aquatics, according to the Qualification System, following the 20th World Aquatics Championships 2023 will be nominated.
- Priority 2: Any swimmer who receives a qualifying invitation for Paris 2024 from World Aquatics, according to the Qualification System, following the 21st World Aquatics Championships 2024 will be nominated.
The remaining slots will be determined based on World Aquatics’ continental representation allocation, which you can read more about here.
Swimming Canada also recently released its selection criteria for the 2024 World Championships in Doha.
