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CAS 2024/A/10740 — Emil Bengtson et al. v. Swedish Olympic Committee

"Bengtson v. SOC" · CAS dismissed six Swedish athletes' challenge to the SOC's supplementary national selection criteria for Paris 2024, confirming NOCs may impose stricter standards than IF qualification systems.

What happened in Bengtson v. SOC

Six Swedish athletes — competing in sailing (ILCA7), shot put, hammer throw, 3000m steeplechase, and 1500m — were not selected for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games because they failed to meet the Swedish Olympic Committee's (SOC) Supplementary Selection Rules (SOC Rules), which required athletes to be capable of finishing in the top 12 at the Games. Each athlete had earned or been associated with a quota place under the World Sailing or World Athletics qualification systems, but the SOC declined those quota places, which were subsequently reallocated to other NOCs. The athletes appealed to CAS, arguing that only the IOC and IFs could set selection criteria and that the SOC Rules violated the Olympic Charter. The SOC defended its exclusive authority under Rule 27.3 of the Olympic Charter to select athletes and argued the IF qualification standards were minimum, not maximum, thresholds. The Panel, applying Swiss law principles of statutory interpretation, held that the Olympic Charter grants NOCs exclusive authority to select athletes and that IF qualification criteria constitute minimum standards only. NOCs may therefore impose more stringent national criteria, provided these do not contradict the Olympic Charter. The SOC Rules were found legitimate and proportionate, and the appeal was dismissed. The case matters because it authoritatively confirms that NOCs retain broad discretion to apply supplementary selection criteria beyond IF qualification standards.

Procedural history of CAS 2024/A/10740

On 3 July 2024, the five track and field athletes were informed by the Swedish National Athletics Federation that they had not been selected for the Swedish Olympic team (the '3 July Decision'). On 5 July 2024, the SOC issued a Press Release confirming its selection of 117 athletes and its exclusive authority, which Mr. Bengtson treated as the first formal response to his queries about the SOC Rules' compliance with the Olympic Charter. Mr. Bengtson had previously been informed on 13 May 2024 by the Swedish Sailing Federation that he was not nominated, and had appealed to the SOC on 4 June 2024. On 12 July 2024, all six athletes filed a Statement of Appeal with CAS under an expedited procedure. The Panel was constituted on 22 July 2024. An expedited procedural calendar was set, with the Appeal Brief filed 18 July 2024, the Answer filed 22 July 2024, and a videoconference hearing held on 25 July 2024. The operative part of the award was notified on 26 July 2024, with the full reasoned award dated 26 February 2025.

Key holdings in CAS 2024/A/10740

• Rule 27.3 of the Olympic Charter grants NOCs 'exclusive authority' to select athletes for the Olympic Games, and the obligation to 'participate by sending athletes' is limited to preventing boycotts, not requiring selection of all internationally qualified athletes.
• The qualification criteria established by IFs and approved by the IOC under Bye-law 40.1 of the Olympic Charter constitute minimum standards only; NOCs retain autonomy to impose more stringent national selection criteria that do not otherwise contradict the Olympic Charter.
• Rule 44.5 of the Olympic Charter, requiring NOCs to send only competitors 'adequately prepared for high level international competition,' confirms that NOCs are not limited to rubber-stamping athletes who meet IF qualification criteria.
• Rule 44.3 of the Olympic Charter provides that 'nobody is entitled as of right to participate in the Olympic Games,' meaning athletes have no individual right enforceable against an NOC's selection decision.
• A SOC Press Release communicating non-selection decisions constitutes a 'decision' within the meaning of Article R47 of the CAS Code, as it affects the legal situation of the athletes concerned, regardless of its form.

How the CAS panel reasoned

The Panel applied Swiss law principles of statutory interpretation to the Olympic Charter, treating it as analogous to legislation of a major sports association, consistent with Swiss Federal Tribunal jurisprudence (SFT 4A_406/2021). Beginning with the literal text of Rule 27.3, the Panel found the grant of 'exclusive authority' to NOCs to be broadly worded. Systematically, it read Rules 27.3, 27.7.2, 44.2, 44.3, and 44.5 together to confirm that no provision limits NOC autonomy to the minimum IF standards, and that no athlete has a right to participate. Teleologically, the Panel noted that requiring NOCs to select all internationally qualified athletes would conflict with Rule 44.5's mandate to send only adequately prepared competitors. The Panel rejected the Appellants' argument that Bye-law 40.2 — requiring stakeholders to 'apply' qualification criteria — precluded supplementary national rules, finding instead that this provision sets a floor, not a ceiling. The Panel was further persuaded by the fact that both the World Sailing QS and World Athletics QS expressly permit NOCs to decline quota places, which would be meaningless if IF criteria were both minimum and maximum standards. The practice of other NOCs (UK, Netherlands, New Zealand) applying supplementary criteria was noted as corroborating evidence. The Panel also found the SOC Rules' purpose — selecting athletes capable of finishing top 12 — to be legitimate and proportionate, with adequate exceptions (Future Criterion and Exception Criteria) for individual circumstances.

Why Bengtson v. SOC matters in CAS jurisprudence

This award provides the most detailed CAS analysis to date of the relationship between IF qualification systems and NOC supplementary selection criteria, definitively holding that IF standards are minimum thresholds only. It confirms and extends the line of authority from CAS OG 20/05 and CAS OG 22/007 by grounding the NOC's exclusive selection authority in a systematic interpretation of the Olympic Charter under Swiss law, and by expressly endorsing the legitimacy of national top-12 performance benchmarks as a condition for Olympic selection.

Cases cited in this award

CAS OG 20/05 CAS OG 22/007 CAS OG 22/03 CAS OG 22/05 CAS 2008/A/1633 CAS 2021/A/8034

Frequently asked questions about Bengtson v. SOC

Can a national Olympic committee set stricter selection criteria than the World Athletics or World Sailing qualification standards for the Olympics?

Yes. In Bengtson v. SOC, the CAS Panel held that IF qualification criteria established under Bye-law 40.1 of the Olympic Charter constitute minimum standards only, not maximum ones. NOCs therefore retain autonomy to impose more stringent national criteria, such as the SOC's requirement that athletes be capable of finishing in the top 12 at the Games, provided those criteria do not otherwise contradict the Olympic Charter.

Does an athlete who earns an Olympic quota place have a legal right to be selected by their NOC?

No. The Panel in Bengtson v. SOC confirmed that Rule 44.3 of the Olympic Charter expressly provides that 'nobody is entitled as of right to participate in the Olympic Games.' Quota places are allocated to NOCs, not individual athletes, and both the World Sailing QS and World Athletics QS expressly permit NOCs to decline quota places, which are then reallocated to other NOCs.

What does Rule 27.3 of the Olympic Charter's obligation to 'participate by sending athletes' actually require of an NOC?

In Bengtson v. SOC, the Panel held that the second sentence of Rule 27.3 — requiring each NOC to 'participate in the Games of the Olympiad by sending athletes' — is limited in scope to preventing boycotts or outright refusals to participate. It does not obligate an NOC to select every athlete who meets the international qualification criteria, as that would conflict with the 'exclusive authority' granted to NOCs in the first sentence of the same rule.

Can a CAS panel review the legality of SOC supplementary selection rules even if athletes cannot directly appeal the rules themselves?

Yes. In Bengtson v. SOC, the Panel found that while athletes lacked standing to directly challenge the SOC Rules adopted by the SOC General Assembly (as they are not SOC members), they could seek an incidental review of those rules in the context of an appeal against a specific non-selection decision made pursuant to those rules. The Panel stated that 'the SOC Rules cannot enjoy immunity from judicial review vis-à-vis the athletes.'

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Source: official award. This digest was generated by LexXi from the full award text and machine-verified against it — every figure, article and citation above appears in the source. It is an editorial summary, not legal advice. See how ElevenLex verification works.