Paris, December 1: The qualification system for the Games scheduled for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina has been officially confirmed following approval by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the EB meeting on Friday.
The competition program for each sports season has also been approved by the IOC, Xinhua reported. By the Olympic Charter, qualification routes are carefully prepared by the respective governing bodies, namely the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) for alpine skiing and the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF).
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Notable adjustments include the modification of the alpine skiing Olympic FIS points calculation to align with FIS qualification events and the reinforcement of eligibility criteria to ensure the participation of the most skilled athletes. Compared to the qualification systems for the Beijing 2022 Games, there have been no significant changes to the methodology of other disciplines.
The qualification systems for Alpine skiing, bobsleigh and skeleton for the Olympic Winter Games @milanocortina26 have been approved by the IOC Executive Board. The competition schedule by session for each sport has also been validated.
More: https://t.co/d19Ti2R55r pic.twitter.com/OP3PuGr3yY
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) November 30, 2023
Nearly 2,900 athletes competing in eight sports, 16 disciplines, and 116 medal events are expected to participate in the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, which runs from February 6 to 22, 2026.
A set of guiding principles have been employed to design an appropriate competition program for these Games, with emphasis on athlete experience, gender equity, meteorological considerations, broadcaster requests, and accessibility to a wide audience.
The IOC EB also received updates on the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Gangwon and the upcoming summer YOG edition scheduled for Dakar in 2026, with only 50 days remaining until the opening ceremony of Gangwon 2024. Additionally, the IOC supported the event program principles for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 with a strategic focus on creating an attractive sports program while streamlining cost and complexity.
