Volleyball: Puerto Rico to Make Women’s Debut After Intercontinental Tournament Win

Puerto Rico finished as the top nation at the 2016 Women’s Intercontinental Volleyball Olympic Qualification Tournament. The four team tournament contained teams from NORCECA, South America and Africa where they played a round robin tournament with the top team qualifying to the Olympics. The Women’s Intercontinental Volleyball Olympic Qualification Tournament was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico from May 20th to May 22nd 2016.

The first set of matches saw Colombia and Puerto Rico win in straight sets over Kenya and Algeria respectively. Kenya was able to get its first win in its second match as it defeated Algeria in a 3-1 match while Puerto Rico placed itself in a great position to win the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Colombia. In the final matches Colombia defeated Algeria in straight sets while Puerto Rico qualified to the Olympics with a 3-0 win over Kenya.

This will be Puerto Rico’s Olympic debut in women’s volleyball. All 12 teams for the women’s tournament are now known.

 

Tournament Rankings

  1. Puerto Rico
  2. Colombia
  3. Kenya
  4. Algeria

 

References

Volleyball: Italy Wins Women’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament

Four teams qualified at the end of the 2016 Women’s World Volleyball Olympic Qualification Tournament. The tournament also doubled as the Asian continental tournament. The top ranked Asian and the top three overall nations qualified to the Olympics. In total eight teams (4 Asian, 2 European, 1 NORCECA and 1 South American) compete in a round robin tournament. The Women’s World Volleyball Olympic Qualification Tournament was held in Tokyo, Japan from May 14th to May 22nd 2016.

The first two days saw Italy win its first two matches including a strong 3-1 win over South Korea. South Korea recovered in its second match where it defeated the Netherlands in straight sets. Japan also remained undefeated with straight sets wins over Peru and Kazakhstan.

After a day of rest another two matches were played. Italy remained undefeated with straight set wins over the Dominican Republic and Peru. Meanwhile Japan suffered its first loss to South Korea as the team lost 3-1. Japan almost suffered a second loss to Thailand where they were forced to win the last two sets to win in a narrow 3-2 match.

The Dominican Republic and Kazakhstan were officially eliminated on the fifth match after losing to Japan and Thailand respectively. Italy also suffered its first loss after losing to the Netherlands in straight sets. On the sixth set of matches Thailand made a final stand in its attempt to qualify to the Olympics by coming back 2-0 against South Korea to win in a 3-2 thriller. Thailand however was eliminated after Italy and Japan finished in a 3-2 match. Overall Italy, Netherlands, Japan and South Korea all qualified to the Olympics with one match remaining. The final set of matches contained one upset where the Dominican Republic defeated South Korea in straight sets. Italy was able to clinch the title by winning its match over Kazakhstan and having Japan come back from being down 2-1 to win 3-2 over the Netherlands.

For Japan and South Korea this will be their 12th and 11th Olympic appearance respectively. For Italy this will be their fifth Olympic appearance, all of the consecutively while for the Netherlands this will be their third Olympics and first time since 1996. There is one final spot remaining in the women’s tournament which will be decided later today at the intercontinental tournament.

 

Tournament Rankings

  1. Italy
  2. Netherlands
  3. Japan
  4. South Korea
  5. Thailand
  6. Dominican Republic
  7. Peru
  8. Kazakhstan

 

References

Cycling Road: Cuba Wins Women’s Pan Am Road Race

Cuba finished with two medals in the women’s road race at the 2016 Pan American Road Cycling Championship. The highest ranked eligible athlete in the women’s road race qualifies her nation to that event. The Pan American Road Cycling Championship was held in San Cristobal, Venezuela from May 19th to May 21st 2016.

The women’s road race began with 46 riders. As the race progressed the leading group contained 10 riders. A sprint towards the finish line became apparent with Cuba’s Iraida Garcia Ocasio winning the race and Olympic quota with a time of 2:38:26. Her compatriot Arlenis Sierra Canadilla finished with the silver medal while Brazil’s Flavia Oliveira won the bronze medal.

While Cuba won the quota the World Rankings which will be published at the end of the month have a higher priority meaning should Cuba qualify through the rankings the next highest ranked nation here will qualify. Currently Cuba is in an excellent position to qualify through the World Rankings. The next three nations in line for the quota are Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Cuba – 1

 

References

Table Tennis: Singles Reallocation Quotas Announced

The International Table Tennis Federation has announced the reallocation of single quotas. These quotas are unused quotas from the team event along with the host quotas. In total seven of each gender is available. The reallocated quota goes to the highest ranked eligible athlete from the Olympic World Rankings. As a reminder all athletes had to have participated in their respective continental qualifier to be allowed entry into the Olympics.

The men’s reallocation quotas went to Lubomir Jancarik (Czech Republic), Benedek Olah (Finland), Dmitrij Prokopcov (Czech Republic), Adam Pattantyus (Hungary), Zhiwen He (Spain), Aleksandar Karakasevic (Serbia) and Adrian Crisan (Romania).

The women’s reallocation quotas went to Xialian Ni (Luxembourg), Margaryta Pesotska (Ukraine), Maria Dolgikh (Russia), Hana Matelova (Czech Republic), Carole Grundish (France), Eva Odorova (Slovakia) and Alexandra Privalova (Belarus).

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Czech Republic – 3
  • Belarus – 1
  • Finland – 1
  • France – 1
  • Hungary – 1
  • Luxembourg – 1
  • Romania – 1
  • Russia – 1
  • Serbia – 1
  • Slovakia – 1
  • Spain – 1
  • Ukraine – 1

 

References

Canoeing Sprint: Canada and Cuba Top Pan Am Championship

Pan American nations qualified to the Olympics at the 2016 Pan American Sprint Canoe Championship. The highest ranked eligible boat in the men’s K1 200m, K2 200m, K1 1000m, K2 1000m, C1 200m, C1 1000m and C2 1000m and the women’s K1 200m, K1 500m and K2 500m qualified to the Olympics. The Pan American Sprint Canoe Championship was held in Gainesville, United States from May 19th to May 21st 2016.

There are a few rules when it comes to qualifying at the continental level for sprint canoeing. First a nation can only qualify a maximum of two athlete quotas from the men’s canoe events. Should a nation qualify two boats in the same category (women’s K1, men’s K2 etc.) they are given the athlete quota in the boat with the longer distance, the other athlete quota will be reallocated to the next highest ranked boat. Finally an athlete can only qualify one athlete quota. Should they qualify in two boats the quota will be given in the largest boat (K2, C2) while the other quota will be allocated to the next highest ranked boat in the K1/C1 event.

For the canoe events Cuba’s Fernando Jorge Rodriguez and Serguey Torres Madrigal won the men’s C2 1000m with a time of 3:31.69. The men’s C1 1000m was won by Canada’s Mark Oldershaw whom finished with a time of 3:52.85. Cuba’s Arnold Rodriguez Castro won the men’s C1 200m with a time of 41.64. However Cuba can only qualify two athlete quotas meaning it must choose one of the boats. Given the scenarios Mexico will likely qualify a boat in either the men’s C1 200m or C2 1000m. In the off-chance that Canada decides to take the C2 1000m over its C1 1000m then Colombia will take the C1 1000m.

The women’s kayak events were dominated by Canada as they won in all three of the Olympic qualifying events. Andreanne Langlois won the K1 200m in a time of 42.98, Lisa Bissonnette won the K1 500m in a time of 1:53.65 and Kathleen Fraser and Genevieve Orton won the K2 500m in a time of 1:41.75. However, Canada already won a quota in the K1 500m from the World Championship meaning the quota for that event was reallocated to second place finisher Margaret Hogan of the United States.

The men’s kayak events saw Cuba’s Reiniel Torres Ribeaux and Jorge Garcia Rodriguez win in the K2 1000m with a time of 3:13.00. The men’s K1 1000m was won by Canada’s Adam van Koeverden whom finished with a time of 3:30.66. Brazil’s Edson Freitas da Silva and Gilvan Bittencourt Ribeiro won the men’s K2 200m with a time of 34.45. Since Brazil won a quota in the men’s kayak its host quota in the men’s K1 1000m has been reallocated to the next best boat at the 2015 World Championship, specifically Belgium. The K1 200m was won by Argentina’s Omar de Andres whom won with a time of 37.47. However, since Argentina already qualified a boat from the World Championship the Olympic quota went to third place finisher Fidel Vargas Duany of Cuba, as silver medalist Freitas of Brazil already qualified through the K2 200m.

This was the final opportunity for athletes to qualify in sprint canoeing. All that is left to do is for nations to confirm the athlete quotas and announce the teams which will compete at the Olympics.

 

Athlete Quotas by Nations

  • Canada – 5
  • Cuba – 5
  • Brazil – 2
  • Mexico – 1
  • United States – 1

 

References

Table Tennis: Team Quotas Announced

With the singles quotas confirmed the International Table Tennis Federation has announced the team quotas for each gender. The team quotas were determined through the Olympic Team Rankings. The highest ranking nation from each of the six continents which qualified two athletes qualified their nation to the Olympics. In addition the overall top 10 nations which qualified two athletes also qualified their nation. By qualifying in a team event nations can add one more athlete to their team though the athlete can only compete in the team event. The nations can gain points towards the Olympic Team Rankings through their performance at select world and continental events. The deadline to gain points was May 1st 2016.

For the women’s teams the continental quotas went to China, Germany, United States, Brazil, Egypt and Australia. The tournament was complete with the addition of Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, North Korea, Netherlands, Romania, Poland and Austria.

The continental quotas for the men’s teams went to China, Germany, Brazil, Nigeria, United States and Australia. The tournament was complete with the addition of Japan, Hong Kong, Portugal, South Korea, France, Sweden, Austria, Poland, Chinese Taipei and Great Britain.

Nations must confirm the quotas before they become finalized. In addition there will be seven reallocated quotas to the singles for both genders due to the excess of quotas for athletes only participating in the team events and the host quota.  While it is simple to calculate where those quotas would go it is best to wait for the ITTF to officially announce them.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Australia – 2
  • Austria – 2
  • Brazil – 2
  • China – 2
  • Chinese Taipei – 2
  • Germany – 2
  • Hong Kong – 2
  • Japan – 2
  • Poland – 2
  • South Korea – 2
  • United States – 2
  • Egypt – 1
  • France – 1
  • Great Britain – 1
  • Netherlands – 1
  • Nigeria – 1
  • North Korea – 1
  • Portugal – 1
  • Romania – 1
  • Singapore – 1
  • Sweden – 1

 

References

Sailing: Tripartite Quotas Announced

The tripartite quotas have been announced for sailing. Tripartite quotas are awarded to nations which have qualified an average of less than 8 athletes in individual events over the past two Olympics. Two quotas were available in the men’s laser and another two were available in the women’s laser radial.

In men’s laser the two quotas went to Angola’s Manuel Lelo and Bermuda’s Cameron Pimentel. The women’s laser radial quotas went to Cayman Islands’ Florence Allan and Saint Lucia’s Stephanie Devaux-Lovell.

In general we are still waiting for nations to confirm their sailing quotas. With the potential of some rejections nations can still qualify through reallocation.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Angola – 1
  • Bermuda – 1
  • Cayman Islands – 1
  • Saint Lucia – 1

 

References

Canoeing Sprint: European Nations Qualify After Sprint Continental Qualifier

Twelve nations qualified boats at the 2016 European Sprint Canoe Olympic Qualifier. The two highest ranked eligible boats in the men’s K1 200m, K1 1000m, C1 200m, C1 1000m, C2 1000m and women’s K1 200m, K1 500m along with the highest ranked eligible boat in the men’s K2 200m, K2 1000m and women’s K2 500m qualified to the Olympics. The European Sprint Canoe Olympic Qualifier was held in Duisburg, Germany from May 18th to May 19th 2016.

There are a few rules when it comes to qualifying at the continental level for sprint canoeing. First a nation can only qualify a maximum of two athlete quotas from the men’s canoe events. Should a nation qualify two boats in the same category (women’s K1, men’s K2 etc.) they are given the athlete quota in the boat with the longer distance, the other athlete quota will be reallocated to the next highest ranked boat. Finally an athlete can only qualify one athlete quota. Should they qualify in two boats the quota will be given in the largest boat (K2, C2) while the other quota will be allocated to the next highest ranked boat in the K1/C1 event.

In the men’s kayak events it was Hungary and Spain whom topped the medal events. Hungary’s Tibor Ufnagel and Bence Dombvari won the men’s K2 1000m with a time of 3:13.223 to qualify their nation to the Olympics. Dombvari would also go on to win the K1 1000m with a time of 3:35.307. However, since Dombvari has already qualified in the K2 event the quotas went to silver and bronze medalists Roman Anoshkin of Russia and Marcus Walz of Spain respectively. In the men’s K2 200m Spain’s Saul Cravitto and Cristian Toro won the event and Olympic quota with a time of 32.040. Cravitto would also win the men’s K1 200m with a time of 34.615. The Olympic quotas went to silver and bronze medalists Bence Horvath of Hungary and Manfredi Rizza of Italy respectively.

The women’s kayak events were topped by Germany and Sweden. In the women’s K2 500m Sweden’s Karin Johansson and Sofia Paldanius won the event and Olympic quota with a time of 1:45.176. The quotas for the women’s K1 500m went to Germany’s Sabrina Hering and Slovakia’s Martina Kohlova whom finished with time of 1:55.378 and 1:55.677 respectively. The women’s K1 200m was won by Germany’s Sabine Volz with a time of 41.470, but since Germany qualified in the K1 500m the two quotas were awarded to silver medalist Linnea Stensils of Sweden and fourth place finisher Francisca Laia of Portugal.

The men’s C2 1000m saw Romania’s Leonid Carp and Stephan Strat barely finishing ahead of Czech Republic’s Jaroslav Radon and Filip Dvorak, winning with a time of 3:37.639. Both nations qualified boats to the Olympics. Carp would also go on to win the C1 1000m with a time of 3:58.288, but since he already qualified the two quotas went to silver and bronze medalists Carlo Tacchici of Italy and Angel Kodinov of Bulgaria respectively. The men’s C1 200m was won by Alfonso Benavides of Spain, winning with a time of 39.245. Also qualifying to the Olympics was Georgia’s Zaza Nadiradze.

This was the final opportunity for European nations to qualify to the Olympics in sprint canoeing. Also to clarify a nation can still take part in the shorter distance/few person events, but they would have to use athletes qualified from other events.

 

Athlete Quotas by Nations

  • Spain – 4
  • Hungary – 3
  • Sweden – 3
  • Czech Republic – 2
  • Italy – 2
  • Romania – 2
  • Bulgaria – 1
  • Georgia – 1
  • Germany – 1
  • Portugal – 1
  • Russia – 1
  • Slovakia – 1

 

References

Table Tennis: Tripartite Places Announced

The tripartite quotas have been announced for table tennis. Tripartite quotas are given to nations which have qualified an average of less than eight athletes in individual events over the past two Olympics. In total there were two quotas, one for the men’s singles and one for the women’s singles available.

Paraguay’s Marcelo Aguirre was awarded the men’s quota. This will be his third Olympics and it is the second time which he obtained a tripartite quota, the first being in 2008. The women’s quota was given to Syria’s Heba Allejji who will be making her Olympic debut.

We are still waiting for some nations whom qualified athletes from the World Rankings to accept their quotas. While there is no net change to the overall quota number China has declined the quota won by Fan Zhendong and Liu Shiwen. The quotas have been reallocated to their compatriots Xu Xin and Ding Ning respectively. Similarly Japan has declined the quota won by Maharu Yoshimura causing it to reallocate to his compatriot Koki Niwa.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Paraguay – 1
  • Syria – 1

 

References

Triathlon: Qualified Nations List Released

The International Triathlon Union has published its Olympic Qualification List filling out the qualified nations through the Olympic Rankings, Olympic Points List and tripartite nations. The Olympic Rankings and Olympic Points List consisted of approved events including World Championship, Continental Championship and other world events. The top eight nations were allowed to qualify three athletes per gender through the Olympic rankings including the quotas obtained through the continental qualifiers and world qualification event. All other nations were allowed to qualify a maximum of two. Originally the top 39 eligible athletes from the Olympic Rankings qualified their nation to the Olympics, however, reallocations has increased that number. The Olympic Points List gave one quota to each of the five continents to athletes whose nations have yet to qualify in triathlon, provided that they met the minimum ranking of 140. For the tripartite commission, two men’s and two women’s quotas were available to athletes from nations whom have qualified an average of 8 or less athletes from individual events over the past two Olympics. They too had to meet the minimum ranking requirements. The Olympic Rankings and Olympic Points List were created using results from various events from May 15th 2014 to May 15th 2016.

In the men’s race a total of 23 nations qualified through the Olympic Rankings. They include Argentina (2), Australia (2), Azerbaijan, Belgium (2), Brazil, Canada (2), Costa Rica, Denmark, France (2), Germany (2), Great Britain (2), Hungary, Ireland, Italy (2), Mexico, Norway, New Zealand (2), Portugal (2), Russia (3), Slovakia, Spain (2), Switzerland and the United States (3). Since Brazil was among the qualified nations its host quota has been reallocated to Israel. Only one tripartite quota was awarded to Jordan which meant the other quota place was reallocated to Mexico. The Olympic Points List gave quotas to Austria, Barbados and China. Since there were no eligible nations in Africa and Oceania the quotas were reallocated to Hungary and Portugal.

In the women’s race a total of 25 nations qualified through the Olympic Rankings. They include Australia (2), Austria (2), Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada (2), Czech Republic, France, Germany (3), Great Britain, Hungary (2), Ireland, Italy (2), Japan (2), Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand (3), Poland, Russia (2), Slovenia, South Africa, Spain (3), Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States (2). Since Brazil was among the qualified nations its host quota has been reallocated to the Netherlands. No tripartite quota was awarded in the women’s race meaning the quotas have been reallocated to Belgium and Sweden. The Olympic Points List gave quotas to China, Ecuador, Estonia and Mauritius. Since there were no eligible nations in Oceania the quota was reallocated to Canada.

Overall the eight nations which will send three athletes in the men’s race are Australia, France, Great Britain, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Spain and the United States. For the women the nations are Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the United States. As a reminder this is a provisional list and is subjected to the approval of nations so there is the potential for reallocation.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Canada – 5
  • Germany – 5
  • New Zealand – 5
  • Russia – 5
  • Spain – 5
  • United States – 5
  • Australia – 4
  • Belgium – 4
  • Hungary – 4
  • Italy – 4
  • Austria – 3
  • France – 3
  • Great Britain – 3
  • Mexico – 3
  • Portugal – 3
  • Switzerland – 3
  • Argentina – 2
  • Brazil – 2
  • China – 2
  • Ireland – 2
  • Japan – 2
  • Netherlands – 2
  • Azerbaijan – 1
  • Barbados – 1
  • Bermuda – 1
  • Costa Rica – 1
  • Czech Republic – 1
  • Denmark – 1
  • Ecuador – 1
  • Estonia – 1
  • Israel – 1
  • Jordan – 1
  • Mauritius – 1
  • Norway – 1
  • Poland – 1
  • Slovakia – 1
  • Slovenia – 1
  • South Africa – 1
  • Sweden – 1
  • Ukraine – 1

 

References