Skeleton at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

The following is about the qualification rules and the quota allocation for skeleton at the 2026 Winter Olympics. ^[1]

Qualification system

A total of 50 quota spots (25 per gender) will be available to athletes to compete at the games. A maximum of six athletes (three per gender) can be entered by a NOC. Additionally, for the first time, mixed teams can be entered with a maximum of two per NOC and total of twenty teams. ^{[2] [1]}

The World Ranking list as of January 18, 2026 will be used to distribute the quotas. Athletes will be ranked by their best seven results. At total of two countries in each gender will qualify the maximum of three athletes, while six countries will qualify two men, (four for women), seven countries will qualify one quota in the men's event and 11 for the women's. If the host nation Italy fails to qualify in an event, the highest ranked sled from the country will take the last qualification slot. For the mixed team event only already qualified individual athletes may compete, with a maximum of two teams per NOC. ^{[1] [3]}

An athlete must be ranked in the top 70 (men) or top 55 (women) to be eligible to compete at the games. ^[1]

Qualification timeline

The IBSF ranking list uses races from the 2025–26 Skeleton World Cup, but also includes results from Asia, Europe, and America cup races. Athletes must have competed in at least eight races across at least three different tracks in the past two seasons, to be eligible. ^[2]

Quota allocation

The following summary is a provisional breakdown of Olympic qualification after World Cup one of seven, based on the IBSF rankings and adjustments. ^{[4] [5]}

Summary

Nations	Men	Women	Mixed team(s)	Athletes
Austria	2	2	2X	4
Belgium	0	1		1
Brazil	0	1		1
Canada	2	2	2X	4
China	3	3	2X	6
Colombia	0	1		1
Czech Republic	0	1		1
Denmark	1	1	X	2
Finland	0	1		1
France	1	0		1
Germany	3	3	2X	6
Great Britain	2	2	2X	4
Israel	1	0		1
Italy	2	2	2X	4
Latvia	2	0		2
Malta	0	1		1
Netherlands	0	1		1
South Africa	0	1		1
South Korea	2	0		2
Spain	1	0		1
Chinese Taipei	1	0		1
Ukraine	1	0		1
United States	1	1	X	2
Virgin Islands	0	1		1
Total: 24 NOCs	25	25	14	50

Men

Sleds qualified	Countries	Athletes total	Nation
3	2	6	China   Germany
2	6	12	Great Britain   South Korea   Canada   Italy   Austria   Latvia
1	7	7	Denmark   United States   Ukraine   France   Israel   Chinese Taipei   Spain
25	15	25

Women

Sleds qualified	Countries	Athletes total	Nation
3	2	6	Germany   China
2	4	8	Great Britain   Italy   Canada   Austria
1	11	11	Belgium   Czech Republic   Netherlands   Brazil   United States   Colombia   Malta   South Africa   Denmark   Virgin Islands   Finland
25	17	25

Next eligible NOC per event

Only NOCs not already qualified are eligible.

Men's	Women's
Malaysia   Australia   Japan   Switzerland   Brazil	South Korea   Latvia   Ireland   Spain   Switzerland

References

1. "Qualification Systems for XXV Olympic Winter Games, Milano Cortina 2026" (PDF). IBSF.com. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
2. "Skeleton: How to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026". Olympics.com. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
3. "How team Canada can qualify for Milano Cortina 2026". Olympics.ca. 19 August 2025. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
4. "Men's skeleton rankings". IBSF.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
5. "Women's skeleton rankings". IBSF.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.