World Archery, the global governing body of the sport, has officially released the qualification framework for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, ushering in a new era for the discipline with the addition of the compound mixed team event to the Olympic programme.
The announcement not only confirms archery’s expanded footprint at LA28 but also lays out a detailed, multi-layered pathway through which the world’s best archers will earn their places on the sport’s biggest stage.
For the first time in Olympic history, archery will feature six medal events:
- •Recurve men’s individual
- •Recurve women’s individual
- •Recurve men’s team
- •Recurve women’s team
- •Recurve mixed team
- •Compound mixed team
The inclusion of compound mixed team marks a landmark moment for a bow style that has long dominated the World Archery circuit but until now had no presence at the Olympics.
Quota limits and athlete caps
A total of 128 athlete quota places will be available in Los Angeles 64 men and 64 women maintaining gender parity. These include eight host country places for the United States and four Universality places, aimed at expanding global representation by enabling archers from under-represented National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to participate.
For recurve events, the rules are structured around team participation. An NOC that qualifies for a recurve team event (men’s or women’s) can send three athletes in that gender, allowing it to field a full team and also contest the individual and mixed team events. If a nation qualifies only in the individual recurve event, it will be limited to one man and one woman.
In the compound mixed team, each NOC may enter only one team, consisting of one man and one woman, underscoring the premium placed on precision pairing and national depth in both genders.
How quotas will be won
World Archery has designed a qualification system that balances elite performance, continental representation, and last-chance opportunities. Different pathways apply to recurve and compound disciplines, reflecting their distinct competitive structures.
Recurve team qualification
Teams can qualify through the World Archery Championships or the Continental Championships for Europe, Asia and the Americas and finally the Final World Recurve Team Qualification Tournament (FTQT)
These events will determine which nations earn the right to send full three-athlete teams in the men’s and women’s recurve competitions.
Recurve mixed team qualification
Mixed team spots will be awarded at the Continental Games across all five Olympic regions — Europe, Africa, the Americas, Oceania and Asia. This means that events such as the Asian Games and European Games will play a decisive role in shaping the LA28 recurve mixed team field.
Compound mixed team qualification
The pathway for the newly added compound mixed team is broader and more competitive. Quotas will be available through the World Archery Championships, continental Games across all five regions or the Compound Mixed Team World Ranking List (TWRL) and the Final World Compound Mixed Team Qualification Tournament (FTQT)
This multi-tiered approach ensures that both consistent performers and late peakers have opportunities to secure Olympic berths.
Recurve individual qualification
Unlike team and mixed events, recurve individual quotas will be awarded only at the World Archery Championships, placing enormous importance on this single global event for archers who hope to qualify as individuals rather than as part of a team.
A strict allocation hierarchy
Because NOCs can earn quotas in more than one event, World Archery has established a clear priority order to avoid duplication and ensure fair distribution. If a country secures multiple quota places through different routes, the following hierarchy will determine which ones are retained:
- World Championships
- Continental Games
- Continental Qualifiers
- World Ranking List
- Final Qualifying Tournament
This means a quota won at the World Championships will always supersede one earned later via rankings or final qualifiers.
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For emerging archery powers such as India, the LA28 framework presents both opportunity and pressure. India has steadily built strength in recurve team and mixed events, particularly at Asian level, making the Asian Games and Asian Continental Championships pivotal stepping stones. The addition of the compound mixed team also opens a major new Olympic pathway for Indian compound specialists, who have been among the world’s best on the World Archery circuit.
However, with only one compound mixed team per NOC and strict hierarchies for quota allocation, nations will need to carefully plan their competitive calendars, prioritising World Championships and Continental Games to avoid being shut out of later qualification windows.
The presence of Universality places and Continental Games-based quotas reflects World Archery’s broader aim of making the Olympic competition more globally representative, while still ensuring that the highest-performing nations and athletes make it to Los Angeles.
With the roadmap now clear, the race to LA28 officially begins for archers across the world a race that will be fought not just on shooting lines, but across a tightly structured and highly competitive qualification calendar.
