As the year 2023 comes to an end, most sports have wrapped up their season on a staunch note. However, the athletes and the federations have also shifted their focus towards the 2024 Olympic Games. The biggest sporting event in the world is ready to kick off next year in July. Preparations in the French capital are at their peak currently, and the adrenaline rush surrounding the games is real. From collaborations to anticipation about the opening ceremony, everything is going on in the background.

Amid all the buzz around the competition, a fresh Olympic qualifying list for track and field athletes has hit the headlines. It is the standard that the athletes will need to meet to secure their spots at the event.

The Olympics are just around the corner

As the athletes are fastening their seatbelts for the French sports meet, the qualification criteria have also arrived. Rori Dunk, a Rio 2016 Olympics medalist and an avid follower of track and field, posted the criteria on his Twitter (now X) handle. He shared a list of men’s and women’s qualifying marks that athletes will have to surpass to participate in the games. In a post made on Wednesday, the list contains all 21 categories of both track and field. In the men’s 100 meters, the athletes should at least finish the race in 10 seconds or less, while the women will have to achieve the benchmark in 11.07 seconds.

The 200-meter category has 20.16 seconds and 22.57 seconds of qualification criteria for men and women, respectively. In the 400-meter and 800-meter races, men will have to clock 45 seconds and 1:44.70, while women should go past the finish line in 50.95 seconds and 1:59.30 in the same categories. Men’s 110 and 100-meter hurdles will have a 13.27-second time to beat, whereas, for women, it is a 12.77-second benchmark to meet. Field categories have also been included in the list and it also looks really competitive.

From track and field to marathon; the list goes on and on

In men’s high jump, the horizontal bar should be jumped in 2.33, while for women it is 1.97. Pole Vault has standards of 5.82 and 4.73 for the latter categories. In the long jump and triple jump, the bar has also been set high, as the male athletes will have to meet 8.27 and 17.22, respectively, to get their spots fixed for the Olympics. For female athletes, the criteria are 6.86 and 14.55 to be able to participate in the event. For Shot Put and Discuss Throw, the distance to beat is 21.50 and 67.20 for males, while for females, the criteria are 18.80 and 64.50, respectively.

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In the hammer throw and javelin throw, the criteria are 78.20 and 85.50 for men, and for women, it is 74 and 64, respectively. For the decathlon/heptathlon, 20-kilometer race walk, and marathon, the qualifying limits are 8460, 1:20:10, and 2:08:10 for men, while they should meet the criteria at 6480, 1:29:20, and 2:26:50, respectively. As the qualification criteria for track and field athletes come out, the anticipation around the games becomes more palpable.

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