Eighty climbers – 40 men and 40 women – across four sport classes will be able to say they competed at Para Climbing’s first appearance at a Paralympic Games, and now they know what they need to do to get there.
Taking place from 15-27 August 2028, the LA28 Paralympic Games will be the culmination of a long journey and process to put the sport on the biggest of world stages for the Para climbers.
HERE IS A BREAK DOWN OF WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
MEDAL EVENTS
There will be a total of eight medal events – four for men, four for women
Women: B2, RP1, AU2, AL2
Men: B1, RP1, AU2, AL2
ENTRIES AND QUOTAS
There will be a maximum of two athletes from the same country for each medal event per gender
There will be a maximum of eight men and eight women from one country
The host country – USA – will be allocated one slot per medal event per gender, but this only comes into effect if no climbers from the USA qualify directly throughout the qualification pathways
QUALIFICATION EVENTS AND NUMBERS
The first event to qualify athletes will be the 2027 World Climbing Para Championship in Brno, Czechia. The three highest ranked climbers in each medal event will qualify – taking into account the country quotas.
Example: If USA finish in first, second and third, the top two athletes would qualify, and the next qualified athlete would be the highest ranked climber from another country – a climber from Australia finishes fourth, they would qualify.
There will be a total of 12 men and 12 women across the four sport classes selected as LA28 medal events that can qualify from the World Championship.
There will be a World Climbing Para Qualifier event in 2028 – open to LA28 sport classes only – and 24 men and 24 women will qualify from this competition.
The six highest ranked climbers from each medal event will qualify, once again taking into account the country quotas.
Example: The two USA climbers and one Australian that qualified through the World Championships means that no USA and only one Australian climber would be eligible to qualify. If Australia finish first and second, then the first would qualify, and the qualification spot will roll down to the seventh placed climber. If the next three climbers are from Japan, only two will qualify and the qualification spot rolls down. On so on, and so on, until you have filled the 24 available spots.
There are four qualification spots for men and four for women as a Host Country Allocation. These are only used if climbers from the USA do not qualify through the two events – World Championship and Para Qualifier. If the allocation is not used, the spot will go to the next highest ranked climber at the Para Qualifier.
Example: As two USA climbers qualified at the World Championships, there would be no Host Country Allocation. However, in another medal event no USA climbers qualified at either event, so they were given one spot for that medal event.
OTHER NOTES
Even if an athlete secures a qualification spot through their results at the events, their place at LA28 is not confirmed until the National Paralympic Committee from their country confirms it.
Athletes must be born before 1 January 2012.
The full Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games Qualification Regulation’s document can be found here
Pierre You, World Climbing Vice President Para Climbing, said: “To see officially in writing what our athletes need to do to compete at our first appearance at a Paralympic Games is another momentous occasion for us on our journey.
“World Climbing has put forward a strong qualification pathway and to see it approved by the IPC brings us one step closer to what we thought was just a dream a few years ago – to have Para Climbing feature at a Paralympic Games. I can’t wait for LA28.”
More information about Para Climbing at LA28 can be found here: https://www.worldclimbing.com/paralympics/2028-los-angeles