Qualifying for the Olympics is never going to be easy. Those that compete in the Olympics are at the absolute top of their sport. Still, there are some events that are easier to qualify for than others.
The easiest Olympic sports to qualify for, include archery and shooting. Neither require great physical conditioning and rely on a person’s natural talent and practice to excel. Furthermore, equipment costs are low and there is not a large pool of people to compete against for Olympic places.
Another option might be bobsleigh. There have been medals handed out to those in bobsleigh teams that picked up the sport just 6-months prior. In some countries, there is even guaranteed qualification in some sports…assuming that you have citizenship (eg. swimming).
On this page, we want to briefly highlight some more of the easiest Olympic sports to qualify for and play. Although, do bear in mind that even though many of these sports are ‘easy’ to qualify for, in the context of the Olympics, easy still means dreadfully hard. You will have to dedicate your life to competing in these events.
The Easiest Summer Olympic Sports To Qualify For
Shooting and archery could be seen as the easiest Summer Olympic events to qualify for, given the fact that peak physical fitness is not required, and there is a reliance on innate talent whilst also being few people competing for a nations squad places.
The problem with most summer Olympic sports is the fact that they require peak physical condition. It will take you years to get to a standard where you can even think about qualifying, let alone actually qualifying. Imagine covering the ground that rugby players do to play Olympic 7s, see how far rugby players run here.
This means that almost all Summer Olympic sports are out. You aren’t going to be competing in the 100-meter sprint, shot put, javelin, etc. any time soon, if at all. It is something that you would have had to have picked up when you were younger.
The sports where you may be able to qualify will be those that require little to no physical ability and rely on natural talents.
For example, it is likely that you will have a far better chance of qualifying in shooting and archery events. You will need to buy the equipment, which may be a little pricey. However, if you spend a lot of time practicing with your equipment, then qualification could be just about the corner. You just need a steady hand and a strong mental game.
In fact, David Wise, an Olympic medalist in freestyle skiing in 2014, 2018 and 2022 has admitted that now his skiing career is winding down he rather fancies his chances at switching sports entirely and aims to compete in archery at a future Olympic games. How hard can it be then?
He has not competed in archery to any level at all at the time of writing. He has simply used it as a way to relax after being introduced to it by a friend. There can’t be many sports you can just ‘pick up’ after your peak physical age/fitness and publicly state you are going to have a crack at the Olympics without being laughed at!
We know that a lot of people suggest riding events as an Olympic sport that you can qualify for easily. You can’t. You may not see it, but there is a lot going on between the horse and the rider. It takes years, and a whole lot of cash, to even get close to the skill that these riders have. That, and most riding sports are physically demanding activities.
So, for now, if you want to qualify for the Summer Olympics, then shooting and archery is the way to go. There are people that have picked up medals barely even focusing on the events.
The Easiest Winter Olympic Sports To Qualify For
Seen the movie ‘Cool Runnings’? As you know, that is based on a true story. Jamaica really did put together a bobsleigh team using athletes that have never touched a bobsleigh before. This goes to show that this is an event that is easy to qualify for, assuming there aren’t that many competitors in your country.
Even then, bobsleigh, outside of being a driver, doesn’t require that much work. As long as you have the strength and the ability to push a bobsleigh a short distance, then you stand a good chance of getting on a bobsleigh team.
In fact, the Winter Olympics is rife with sports that you could potentially qualify for. This is because most countries don’t even bother to field players. Although, you will likely need to fund your own transport to the Olympics. See Olympic ski jumpers such as Eddie the Eagle from the United Kingdom (competes as Team GB).
Eddie the Eagle entered British sporting folklore in 1988 by becoming the countries first Olympic ski jumper since 1928. He competed and finished last in the Normal Hill and Large Hill competitions.
His energy and enthusiasm for both his sport, and the Olympics in general, turned him into a celebrity. People loved his story of ‘making’ the Olympics even though he did not stand any chance of winning and in fact stood more chance of doing his body some serious injury.
The lesson to be learned from Eddie’s journey for wannabe Olympians is to take a careful look at which sports your country has opportunities in, i.e. look for sports with few people competing for places. In this way you might be able to secure a spot with comparably little tlme tand preparation, although dedication is likely to always be a ‘must’.
‘Eric the Eel’ is an example of someone who took a similar route. Eric was from Equatorial Guinea where there were no trials to work through in order to qualify to compete as a swimmer at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, rather he was reliant on receiving a ‘wild card’ entry which was awarded in order to stimulate the growth of the sport in his country.
Whilst he certainly looked ‘in shape’ he had never seen a full 50 metre pool before let alone swam two lengths of one.
As he dragged his body painfully to the finish line he realised his dream of competing in the Olympics though perhaps not in the most conventional of manners
He nearly needed help in finishing the second length and finished 71st out of 71 entrants, a full 50 seconds behind the 70th place swimmer. Quite incredible for a one hundred metre freestyle race!
Qualifying For Olympic Sports Through Citizenship
Some would argue that this is the most difficult way to qualify for the Olympics. However, it would be amiss if we didn’t point it out.
There are some events (including swimming) that allow at least one person from each country to compete. There is no minimum qualification time. This means that you could (feasibly) qualify no matter how bad you are and this is “Eric the Eel’, category.
Although, you probably wouldn’t get far in the competition. But still, if your goal is to get to the Olympics, then it probably wouldn’t really matter that much to you.
The hard part is getting citizenship! Although, plenty of athletes have gone down this route when they found they cannot compete for their own country. Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian competed for the American bobsled team in 2014 before switching to the Jamaican bobsled team for the 2018 Olympic Games.
Gus Kenworthy is another example switching from the US Ice Hockey team in 2014 to the Great Britain team in 2018 based on his mother’s British nationality and for whom he sto0d a much better chance of making the team.
As you can see there a number of different options that you may pursue if you really are dedicated, and have your heart set on making an appearance at an Olympic games even if you are perhaps not quite top of your game anymore, orare looking for an easier option – Good luck!
You might also be interested in reading: Advantages of Playing Rugby: Research and Case Studies
Image Credits
David Drahonínský, Londýn 2012 LidaFik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
