Road to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games

Qualifying for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 is a multi-step process for lifters around the globe. All Olympic hopefuls must compete in a minimum of five events across two qualifying periods. They'll register totals (their top snatch + top clean & jerk at a single event) to move up the Olympic Qualifying Rankings (OQR). The most straightforward way for athletes to qualify for the Games is to ultimately finish in the top-eight of the OQR in their respective bodyweight category (see below for categories), with a maximum of six athletes (three men, three women) allowed to represent each country across three different weight categories. 

Athletes will be ranked in the OQR according to the number of points they collect. The ranking points collected correspond to, and are equal to, the Total results achieved by an athlete (one kilogram equals one point). The Total result is the sum of an athlete’s best Snatch and best Clean and Jerk results from the same competition (IE: a 120kg snatch and 150kg C&J = 270kg total. A). 

• One athlete per country will be listed in the OQR in each Olympic bodyweight category. This athlete will be the highest ranked athlete from that country in the respective category. 

• The IWF will also publish a Long-List-OQR (LLR), which includes all eligible athletes regardless of the maximum number of athletes per Olympic bodyweight category per NOC. 
• The final Ranking Points of an athlete in the OQR are the sum of the five best Total results achieved during the Qualification Period in the same Olympic bodyweight category at the qualification events. 

The full IWF qualifying procedures are available here.

The Qualification Period for the OQR will begin on July 27, 2026 and end on May 7, 2028. The Qualification Period is divided into two sub-periods (Periods 1 and 2). Total results/Ranking Points achieved by athletes in the same Olympic bodyweight category will be included in the OQR as follows: 

• The best three Total results from Period 1, and 
• The best two Total results from Period 2. 

• 2026 IWF World (Senior) Championships 
• 2026 IWF Qualifier I 
• 2027 IWF Qualifier II 
• 2027 Continental (Senior) Championships or Continental (Senior) Games 
  • (one event per continent as officially approved by the IWF as a qualification event) 
  • 2027 Pan-American (Senior) Championships 
  • 2027 European (Senior) Championships
  • 2027 Asian (Senior) Championships
  • 2027 African (Senior) Championships
  • 2027 Oceania (Senior) Championships 
• 2027 IWF Qualifier III 
• 2027 IWF World (Senior) Championships 

Period 2, 4 events 

• 2027 IWF Qualifier IV 
• 2028 IWF Qualifier V 
• 2028 Continental (Senior) Championships 
  • 2028 African (Senior) Championships
  • 2028 Asian (Senior) Championships
  • 2028 European (Senior) Championships
  • 2028 Pan-American (Senior) Championships
  • 2028 Oceania (Senior) Championships
• 2028 IWF World (Senior) Championships

• Qualification begins: 27 July 2026
• Qualification ends: 7 May 2028
• Final OQR published: 11 May 2028
• Best lifters published: 11 May 2028
• Final OQR confirmed: 29 May 2028
• Entrants confirmed: 26 June 2028
• Games begin: 14 July 2028
• Weightlifting begins: 25 July 2028
• Weightlifting ends: 29 July 2028