Winning a medal or even participating in the Olympic Games is the pinnacle of an athlete's career in Taekwondo. This is a privilege that few share because the number of places available at the Olympic Games is very limited: every four years, only 128 athletes make it, 16 per weight category (4 categories for men, four categories for women) who will compete for medals (32 medals). The Olympic qualification system allows athletes to win places (quotas) for their country (NOC). Then, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) decides which athlete will go to the Olympic Games. Very often, the athlete who qualifies for his country will go to the Olympic Games. However, sometimes, the NOC may select another athlete because it is considered that he or she has a better chance of winning a medal at the Games. It goes without saying that this kind of decision can be challenging to accept for the athlete concerned and can be very controversial.
The Olympic qualifications allow 120 places to be allocated to National Olympic Committees. A country can have only one representative per weight category, i.e., a maximum of 8 athletes. In addition, 4 quotas are allocated to the host country (Japan in 2021), and 4 quotas are by invitation. The invitations are decided by a tripartite commission (the International Olympic Committee, the National Olympic Committees, and the International Federations). The objective of the invitations is to contribute to enhancing and reflecting universality by selecting athletes from such NOCs who have not been able to qualify.
Here's how the different types of qualifications work:
