For the athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics competitions, the following qualification systems were in place. Qualification ended on 29 June 2021, but for marathon and 50 km race walking, it ended on 31 May 2021. Some 1900 athletes, from 196 countries, competed. 103 countries qualified also through Universality places (initially 101, 61 men and 40 women).
Qualifying standards A National Olympic Committee (NOC) may enter up to 3 qualified athletes in each individual event if all athletes meet the entry standard during the qualifying period. An NOC may also enter a maximum of 1 qualified relay team per event. Under the universality rule, NOCs may enter one male athlete and one female athlete, regardless of time, if they have no athletes of that gender meeting the entry standard. This makes it possible for every NOC to have a minimum of two representatives in the sports. These universality spots cannot be used in the combined events, the 10,000 metres, or the 3,000 metre steeplechase.
The qualifying system for Tokyo 2020 saw fundamental changes from the previous Olympics. While the qualification from Rio 2016 and other previous editions relied on qualifying standards, Tokyo 2020 is primarily based on world ranking. World Athletics, the global sport governing body formerly known as IAAF until a name change in 2019, continues to set qualifying times, but these are "set for the sole purpose of qualifying athletes with exceptional performances unable to qualify through the World Athletics Rankings pathway." The number of entrants per event is capped, with different caps for different events varying from 24 athletes for the combined events to 80 (finally 110) athletes for the marathons.
The World Athletics Rankings are based on the average of the best five results for the athlete over the qualifying period. The results are weighted by the importance of the meet.
The qualifying standards may be obtained in various meets during the given period approved by the World Athletics. The qualifying period for the marathon and the 50 km race walk occurs from 1 January 2019 to 5 April 2020 and from 1 December 2020 to 31 May 2021 and the qualifying for the 10,000 m, 20 km race walk and combined events occurs from 1 January 2019 to 5 April 2020 and from 1 December 2020 to 29 June 2021, with the rest of the track and field events happening from 1 May 2019 to 5 April 2020 and from 1 December 2020 to 29 June 2021. The most recent Area Championships may be counted in the ranking, even if not during the qualifying period. On 6 April 2020, the World Athletics announced that the qualification period for the Games was suspended until 30 November 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In July 2020, World Athletics announced that the suspension period would be lifted for the road events (marathons and race walks) on 1 September 2020.
For the relays, a maximum of sixteen qualified NOCs shall be entitled to each event. The top eight teams in each event at the 2019 World Championships in Athletics (held in Doha from 28 September to 6 October 2019) guarantee a spot on their respective NOCs for the Olympics. The remaining half in each event are selected at the 2021 World Athletics Relays and according to World Athletics Top List as of 29 June 2021.
NOCs with more than three qualified athletes in an individual event may select, using their own rules, athletes from among those qualified. For example, the United States selects athletes based on the result of the 2020 United States Olympic Trials meet, but has a policy of entering every athlete qualified. Sweden only enters athletes good enough to reach at least the eighth position, based on an assessment by the Swedish NOC.
A tracking system of qualification is published by World Athletics: Road to 2020 Olympic Games. This Road to Tokyo tool shows which athletes – subject to being officially selected by their NOC – have qualified to compete. This tool identifies the first 3 qualifiers per country (in bold) but any athlete who has qualified, by Standard or Ranking, can be selected within the limit of 3 per nation. As this is a qualification monitoring tool, not an entry monitoring tool, it won't highlight which athletes have been officially selected by their NOC, but team announcements of many of the leading nations will be later published by World Athletics.
Some 1900 athletes, from more than 190 countries, will compete at the Olympic Games when the athletics will begin on 30 July.
The qualification period for all stadium events finished on 29 June and the qualification system has now been finalised, showing that about 70% of the athletes in individual events have qualified by entry standard and 30% by world ranking position, while 101 universality places have been awarded.
As already reported when the qualification closed for the longer road events, the men's and women's marathon exceeded their event quotas. This is also the case in the men's and women's 10,000m and the women's triple jump. No ranking place was necessary to complete the field in the men's shot put. But in those cases, regardless of the events’ quotas, any athlete with a qualification standard will still be eligible for selection to compete in Tokyo.
Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, said: "Olympic qualification processes are always a bit fraught because there's so much on the line for the athletes, but it's exciting to see the Olympic fields take shape as the Tokyo Games approach, and it's pleasing to see that the extended qualifying process we put in place when the Games were postponed last year ultimately allowed more athletes to reach the entry standards". "With Tokyo 2020 less than a month away, and this last milestone complete, anticipation is growing rapidly for what shapes as an extraordinary competition ahead, based on some of the performances we have seen this year. I'm delighted to see that more than 190 countries will be represented in athletics in Tokyo, reflecting the unmatched universality of our sport, and I look forward to seeing all those athletes competing at the Games from 30 July."
Athletes must have been born before 1 January 2006 (that, be at least 16 years old at the end of 2021) to compete. Youth athletes (born in 2004 or 2005, age 16 or 17 at the end of 2021) cannot compete in the throwing events, combined events, marathons, race walks, or 10,000 metre events. Junior athletes (born in 2002 or 2003, age 18 or 19 at the end of 2021) may compete in any event but cannot compete in the marathons or the 50 kilometre race walk.
The World Athletics Qualifying Standards are as follows:
Men's and mixed eventsWomen's events Event Entry mark Event Entry mark100 m10.05100 m11.15200 m20.24200 m22.80400 m44.90400 m51.35800 m1:45.20800 m1:59.501500 m3:35.001500 m4:04.205000 m13:13.505000 m15:10.0010,000 m27:28.0010,000 m31:25.00110 m hurdles13.32100 m hurdles12.84400 m hurdles48.90400 m hurdles55.403000 m steeplechase8:22.003000 m steeplechase9:30.00Marathon2:11:30Marathon2:29:3020 km walk1:21:0020 km walk1:31:0050 km walk3:50:00Long jump8.22Long jump6.82Triple jump17.14Triple jump14.32High jump2.33High jump1.96Pole vault5.80Pole vault4.70Shot put21.10Shot put18.50Discus throw66.00Discus throw63.50Hammer throw77.50Hammer throw72.50Javelin throw85.00Javelin throw64.00Decathlon8350Heptathlon64204 × 100 m relayTop 8 at WAC +Any unqualified nation that reaches the final of the 2021 World Athletics Relays + Next best from top lists up to maximum field of 16 teams4 × 100 m relayTop 8 at WAC +Any unqualified nation that reaches the final of the 2021 World Athletics Relays + Next best from top lists up to maximum field of 16 teams4 × 400 m relay 4 × 400 metres relay (mixed)4 × 400 m relay
Track events
Men's track events
Men's 100 m Does not include indoor achievements or races with wind above 2.0 m/s. Entry number: 56 (17 from ranking) + 28 Universality and 1 Invitational. Some sprinters, like Aaron Brown, have been withdrawn (see note #11).
Qualification standardNo. of athletes NOC Nominated athletesEntry standard – 10.053 Zharnel HughesReece PrescodChijindu Ujah3 Yohan BlakeOblique SevilleTyquendo Tracey3 Yuki KoikeShuhei TadaRyota YamagataThe results of the 2021 Japanese championships were the following: 1. Shuhei Tada 10.15, 2. 10.19, 3. Ryota Yamagata 10.27, 4. Yuki Koike (sprinter) 10.27, 5. Yoshihide Kiryu 10.28.3 Enoch AdegokeUsheoritse ItsekiriDivine Oduduru3 Gift LeotlelaShaun MaswanganyiAkani Simbine3 Ronnie BakerTrayvon BromellFred Kerley1 Andre De GrasseAaron Brown2 Su BingtianXie Zhenye1 Joseph AmoahBenjamin Azamati-Kwaku1 Mark OdhiamboFerdinand Omurwa1 Cejhae Greene1 Rohan Browning1 Samson Colebrooke1 Mario Burke1 Paulo André de Oliveira1 Kemar Hyman1 Jimmy Vicaut1 Lalu Muhammad Zohri1 Hassan Taftian1 Marcell Jacobs1 Arthur Cissé1 Emmanuel Matadi1 Femi Ogunode1 Jason RogersWorld ranking2 Felipe Bardi dos SantosRodrigo do Nascimento2 Bismark BoatengGavin Smellie1 Silvan WickiAlex Wilson2 Emre Zafer BarnesJak Ali Harvey1 Wu Zhiqiang1 Yang Chun-han1 Kojo Musah0 Mouhamadou FallThe French sprinter will only run in the 4 × 100 m relay. The Road to Tokyo tool of World Athletics indicates two more sprinters who would have qualified by ranking as "withdrawn": Edward Osei-Nketia (NZL) and Kevin Kranz (GER). Aaron Brown (CAN) is also "withdrawn" but had qualified by entry standard.1 Filippo Tortu0 Alonso Edward1 Carlos Nascimento1 Ján Volko1 Yupun AbeykoonUniversality Places1 Sha Mahmood Noor Zahi1 Aveni Miguel1 Nathan Crumpton1 Shaun Gill1 Didier Kiki1 Bruno Rojas1 Pen Sokong1 Oliver Mwimba1 Scott Fiti1 Banuve Tabakaucoro1 Guy Maganga Gorra1 Ebrima Camara1 Seco Camara1 Emanuel Archibald1 Lataisi Mwea1 Hassan Saaid1 Jonah Harris1 Yeykell Romero1 Badamassi Saguirou1 Barakat Al-Harthi1 Adrian Ililau1 Ildar Akhmadiev1 Fabrice Dabla1 Ronald Fotofili1 Karalo Maibuca1 Mohamed Alhammadi1 Ngoni MakushaInvitational Places1 Dorian Keletela Total 79Includes 28 athletes qualified by universality place entering at the preliminary round.
Men's 200 m
Entry number: 56. Withdrawn after qualification by standard or ranking: Miguel Francis, Benjamin Azamati-Kwaku, Zharnel Hughes, Christophe Lemaitre, Mouhamadou Fall, Paulo André de Oliveira, Felipe Bardi dos Santos, Méba-Mickaël Zeze, Jeffrey John.
Qualification standardNo. of athletes NOC Nominated athletesEntry standard – 20.241 Miguel FrancisAdam GemiliZharnel Hughes3 Kenny BednarekErriyon KnightonNoah Lyles2 Aaron BrownAndre De Grasse1 Joseph AmoahBenjamin Azamati-Kwaku2 Rasheed DwyerJulian Forte2 Shaun MaswanganyiClarence Munyai2 Kyle GreauxJereem Richards0 Steven Gardiner0 Mario Burke0 Isaac Makwala1 Aldemir da Silva Júnior1 Xie Zhenye1 Bernardo Baloyes1 Yancarlos Martínez0 Álex Quiñónez1 Abdul Hakim Sani Brown1 Joseph Fahnbulleh1 Divine Oduduru1 Alonso Edward1 Femi Ogunode0 Alex Wilson1 Ramil Guliyev1 Sydney SiameWorld ranking2 Jorge VidesLucas Vilar2 Marcus LawlerLeon Reid2 Fausto DesaluAntonio Infantino2 Shota IizukaJun Yamashita1 Robin Vanderbemden1 Brendon Rodney1 Jan Jirka1 Steven Müller1 Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake1 Emmanuel Matadi1 Gediminas Truskauskas1 Taymir Burnet1 Ján Volko1 Anaso Jobodwana1 William Reais1 Serhiy SmelykUniversality Places1 Muhd Noor Firdaus Ar-Rasyid1 Emmanuel Eseme1 José Andrés Salazar1 Sibusiso Matsenjwa1 Noureddine Hadid1 Fodé Sissoko Total 50
Men's 400 m
Entry number: 48.