Article updated 2/26/2015

In November of 2014, the new qualification rules for the 2015 IAAF World Championships were published. In light of the FloTrack Throwdown announcement, here is everything you need to know about qualifying for the World Championships.

FloTrack’s event will be taking place on August 9th, 2015. The deadline for IAAF qualification is Aug. 10, 2015. We have reached out to USATF and they have confirmed that all marks run AND submitted by 11:59pm PT on Aug. 9, 2015 will be eligible for qualifying. The FloTrack Throwdown will be an opportunity for athletes to not only be a part of a one-of-kind event, but also hit qualifying marks for the IAAF World Championships.

Why is this important to know?

Athletes can still qualify the typical way by finishing top 3 at the USATF Outdoor Championships AND also having the IAAF Standards, but that's not it! Under new IAAF rules, member federations may recieve invitations from the IAAF for more athletes to compete, respecting the maximum quota of athletes per event per member federation. The IAAF will not invite a US athlete if there are already three US athletes qualified and entered into the competition. For events where three athletes are not already qualified, USATF will accept invitations for athletes based on their finish at the USATF Championships and their rank on the IAAF rankings list. See below for more details:

New Invitation by Ranking

The IAAF will establish the ideal number of athletes per event, including relay teams. These numbers will be met through entry standards, finishing positions at specific IAAF World events, and reigning World Champion/Diamond League Champions, the details of which are listed below. This is where a new set of rules emerge - Invitations to athletes based on performance lists. The IAAF will use descending order lists per event to invite more athletes into each event if they feel they need more to achieve the ideal number of athletes per event. This does not apply to the 5000m, 10,000m, marathons, or race walks. 

From the IAAF World Championships Bulletin No. 2:
“Individual athletes: Following the end of the qualification period, the IAAF shall assess the number of athletes having qualified in accordance with the points above, plus the unqualified athletes. The IAAF shall then invite the athletes with the next best performances in the respective qualification periods in order to reach the established ideal number of athletes by event, respecting the maximum quota by member federation by event. Upon refusals or cancellations, invitations shall be extended to the next eligible athlete at the sole and exclusive discretion of the IAAF.”

Full information from the IAAF and it's qualification procedures can be found here.

How USATF Will Interpret

The above statement pertains to the invitations that may be sent out by IAAF. USATF, however, then has it's own set of rules for accepting potential invitations from the IAAF. Besides the Aug. 10, 2015 deadline, below are the set of criteria USATF will follow if invitations are sent from the IAAF to USATF:

1. If after August 9, 2015 12:00 midnight Pacific Time, there remain places on the USATF team or alternate positions USATF may, in its discretion, in rank order of finish at the Trials, enter athletes and/or designate athletes as alternates based on their having achieved the applicable IAAF Qualifying Standard.

2. If no U.S. athletes achieve the IAAF Qualifying Standard in a given event during the qualifying period, USATF will enter no athletes in that event, unless an athlete is exempt from qualifying because he or she is the reigning World Champion or Diamond League Champion.

3. In each event, the rank order of the finish at the Trials shall determine the eligibility of an athlete to compete or be designated an alternate at the IAAF World Championships.

4. In some events, the IAAF may invite athletes based on the IAAF ranking lists in order to reach the target number of competitors for each event as listed by the IAAF for the 2015 IAAF World Championships. USATF shall accept any invitations extended to U.S. athletes if such acceptance does not displace an athlete who has finished ahead of the invited athlete(s) at the Trials and who has met the qualifying standard or who is also in a position to receive an IAAF invitation. In the event that one or more of the top three placers in the Trials has not met the qualifying standard but has a performance that appears to be good enough to warrant an invitation based on the ranking list and number of known qualifiers, USATF may solicit an invitation from the IAAF for that athlete(s) notwithstanding that other U.S. athletes have met the qualifying standard. The intent is that, to the extent possible, the order of finish at the U. S. Championships shall determine whether an athlete competes in the World Championships. There will be no invitations through the use of the ranking lists in the 5,000m, 10,000m, race walk and marathon.

Full information can be found through USATF's website.

Achieving IAAF Standards: The Basics

Here is a quick run down of how athletes can hit IAAF qualifying standards and get to the IAAF World Championships in 2015. (standards are listed at the bottom of this page).

1. Automatically by achieving the entry standard within the qualification period in accordance with criteria decided by IAAF. 
2. Based on the finishing position at designated competitions as follows. In these cases the athletes shall also be considered as having achieved the entry standard. (Note for US Athletes: it is up to USATF as to whether the following athletes are entered):
• The area champions in all the individual events (except for the marathons). The member federation of the area champion will have the ultimate authority to enter the athlete or not, based on its own selection criteria.
• For the 10,000m, the top 15 athletes finishing in the senior men’s and women’s races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Guiyang 2015.
• For the combined events, the top three in the 2014 men’s and women’s IAAF Combined Events Challenge.
• For the 20km race walk, the top three in the 2014 men’s and women’s IAAF World Race Walking Challenge.
• For the 50km race walk, the top three in the 2014 IAAF World Race Walking Cup.
• For the marathons, the top 10 finishers at the IAAF Gold Label marathons held in the qualification period.

3. The IAAF will accept the participation of the following as wild cards, in each individual event, on the condition that the athlete in question is entered by his or her federation:
• Reigning world outdoor champion
• Winner of the previous year’s IAAF Diamond Race (in the corresponding World Championships events)
• Hammer Throw Challenge as wild cards, in each individual event, on the condition that the athlete in question is entered by his or her federation.

Note: If both are from the same country, only one of the two can be entered with this wild card. If a member federation has four athletes in one event as a result of this regulation, all four will be permitted to compete.

4. As a result of being one of the best-ranked athletes at the end of the qualification period to fill the remaining quota places by event. (This is the new rule discussed above)
• This does not apply to the 5000m, 10,000m, marathons and race walks where entries will continue to be administered by entry standards only.

For relays, there are two ways of qualifying:
1. Automatically as being one of the first eight-placed teams at the 2014 IAAF World Relays in The Bahamas.

2. As a result of being one of the best-ranked teams at the end of the qualification period to fill the remaining quota places.
• For the purpose of being ranked, the results of relay races shall be valid only on condition that they are part of a competition staged in compliance with IAAF rules and that at least two different international teams, representing at least two countries, compete in the race.


Below are the entry standards for the 2015 IAAF World Championships.