r/olympics•
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A legit path for ordinary people (from certain countries) to compete at LA 2028?

I had this thought. In swimming, Chad and Liberia are members of World Aquatics but have never once sent swimmers to the Olympics or the World Championships. Any country can send two athletes in swimming to the Olympics without meeting a qualification standard. (Same for track and field, but all countries have track and field athletes.)

So if you were for example a Chadian- or Liberian-American who can do 50 meters of swimming in a reasonable time, this could be something to look into. I'm not sure what the status of those countries' swimming federations is or if they have some new athletes we don't yet know about, but there's a chance it could change your life All you'd apparently have to do to qualify is enter the 2027 Worlds or continental championships.

Kiribati, Nauru, South Sudan and Tuvalu have also not sent any swimmers to the Olympics before, but if you were going that route you'd have to get a swimming federation created first.

Posted Jun 4, 2026, 12:52 AM UTC

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