How to qualify for fencing at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained

Fencing has been part of the Olympic programme since the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. Since that edition, on the strength of the age-old tradition of its specialities - sabre, foil and épée - it has become one of the most iconic Olympic sports. 100 years before the next Olympic Games in Paris, the French capital also hosted the first-ever women’s competition in 1924.

At Tokyo 2020, 200 elite fencers from 42 NOCs contested 12 medal events. Find out about the changes that will be in effect for Paris 2024, including the number of athletes and the pathway they will take to the Grand Palais strip at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

How many fencers will compete at Paris 2024?

A total of 212 fencers will compete at Paris 2024, including 102 men and 102 women, plus six host country quotas (three per gender) and two Universality Places (one per gender).

There will be a maximum of 18 athletes per NOC (nine per gender), including a team of three athletes per gender for team events. For the Specific Event Quota, a team of three athletes per gender or one athlete per gender is considered.

Quota places for individual events vary from a minimum of 34 (per weapon) to a maximum of 37, while quota places for team events vary from a minimum of eight to a maximum of nine.

The variable quota refers to the host country, France, which can decide whether or not to field its own trio of athletes. Each team will consist of three fencers.

READ MORE: Paris 2024: The quest for Olympic qualification begins.

What is the fencing qualification pathway to Paris 2024?

Quota places are allocated to athletes by name in the following individual events:

• 60 quotas: Men’s Sabre, Men’s Foil, Men’s Epée, Women’s Sabre, Women’s Foil and Women’s Epée for athletes from NOCs that did not qualify through team qualification

Quota places are allocated to NOCs in the following events/scenarios:

• 144 quotas: Teams in Women’s Sabre, Women’s Foil, Women’s Epée, Men’s Sabre, Men’s Foil and Men’s Epée
• Six quotas: Host country places
• Two quotas: Universality places attributed by the Tripartite Commission

Excluding Universality Places and Host Country Places, the qualification pathways are as follows:

Quota places for team qualification (144 for 48 teams) - Women’s Sabre, Women’s Foil, Women’s Epée, Men’s Sabre, Men’s Foil and Men’s Epée

• Based on the FIE Official senior Team Ranking list of 1 April 2024

This list is established according to the number of points accumulated from 3 April 2023 to 1 April 2024 at the following events:

• Senior Team World Cup Competitions
• Senior Team World Championships
• Senior Team Continental Championships

The Team Ranking will be determined by counting the points obtained in these events, for a total of 48 teams, and consequently, 144 athletes will qualify for the individual competitions (three per NOC).

The four highest-ranked NOCs in each weapon and per gender will qualify for the Games, irrespective of their zone of origin.

The best-placed team in each weapon and per gender from each of the four zones (Africa, America, Asia-Oceania, Europe) ranked between 5th and 16th place in the rankings will also qualify for Paris 2024.

If a zone is not represented in the above-mentioned ranking positions, the next ranked team from that zone will qualify.

Quota places for individual qualification (60 places) - Men’s Sabre, Men’s Foil, Men’s Epée and Women’s Sabre, Women’s Foil and Women’s Epée

• Based on the FIE Individual Senior Adjusted Official Ranking (AOR) List by zone of 1 April 2024

The individual ranking will be defined by the points earned between 3 April 2023 and 1 April 2024 in the individual competitions of:

• Individual Grand Prix competitions
• Individual Senior World Cup competitions
• Satellite competitions
• Individual Senior World Championships
• Individual Senior Continental Championships

This ranking will then be adjusted to define the AOR, removing the names of athletes per NOC and weapon who have already qualified through the Team competition. For other NOCs, only the highest-placed athletes per NOC, zone and weapon will remain in the ranking.

Based on the AOR, the six best placed athletes, one per NOC and weapon, will qualify as follows:

• Two for Europe
• Two for Asia-Oceania
• One for America
• One for Africa

These quota places will be reserved for NOC that did not qualify any athletes through the Team qualifications.

• Based on FIE Zone Qualifying Events

The highest four athletes will qualify for Paris 2024, one per NOC and one per zone (Europe, Asia-Oceania, America, Africa).

Only NOCs that have not already qualified athletes in one or more weapons by the two previous methods will be allowed to participate in these events.

These NOCs may only participate with one athlete per weapon. In any case, no NOC may qualify more than three athletes per weapon at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

What is the Paris 2024 fencing competition schedule?

The fencing events of Paris 2024, will take place between 27 July and 4 August 2024.

There will be 12 medal events, and the same weapons will be used by each gender:

• Individual Epée (women’s / men’s)
• Individual Foil (women’s / men’s)
• Individual Sabre (women’s / men’s)
• Team Epée (women’s / men’s)
• Team Foil (women’s / men’s)
• Team Sabre (women’s / men’s)

The venue of the fencing competition will be the iconic Paris Grand Palais.

READ MORE: Olympic Games Paris 2024 sports calendar released

READ MORE: Tickets for Paris 2024: what's new

Fencers to watch at Paris 2024

With the upcoming Olympic Games taking place on home soil, French fencers will be aiming to shine at Paris 2024. Among them, Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Romain Cannone will be aiming to defend his title from Tokyo 2020 after he not only claimed the world title but also guided the French men's épée team to gold at the 2022 FIE World Fencing Championships in Cairo, Egypt.

However, the French men’s épée team will need to overcome the challenges of traditional favourites Italy, as well as the reigning Olympic champions, Japan.

In foil, the current world no. 1 Tommaso Marini of Italy will be hoping to win gold after his compatriot Daniele Garozzo was defeated by Cheung Ka Long of Hong Kong, China in the final at Tokyo 2020.

Republic of Korea will be aiming for a third gold in men’s team sabre when they compete at Paris 2024, after successfully claiming their fourth consecutive world title this year in Cairo.

In the women’s foil competition, France’s Ysaora Thibus added world gold to her Tokyo 2020 team foil silver at the 2022 World Championships. The 31-year-old will be aiming for the top step on the podium at her home Olympic Games.

The 2022 women’s team épée champions, Republic of Korea, will also have their eyes on the gold medal at the Grand Palais, however they will face stiff competition from Olympic bronze medallists Italy, who currently sit second in the world rankings.

Fencing qualification timeline to Paris 2024

• 3 April 2023: Start of the qualification period
• 1 April 2024: Closure of the FIE official senior rankings
• 15 - 30 April 2024: Zonal qualifying events
• 30 April 2024: End of the qualification period
• 8 May 2024: The FIE confirms in writing to the NOCs the quota placesobtained.
• 20 May 2024: Host country confirms in writing if and for which events andgenders it will use its host country quota places
• 21 - 25 May 2024: Deadline to confirm Universality places
• 31 May 2024: The NOCs to confirm to the FIE the use of the allocatedquota places
• 25 June 2024: Deadline for NOCs to provide to FIE the names of the three(3) athletes composing the teams
• 3 June 2024: FIE to reallocate all unused quota places
• 8 July 2024: Paris 2024 Sport Entries deadline
• 26 July - 11 August 2024: Olympic Games Paris 2024

Find out more about the qualification system for other sports that will feature at Paris 2024.