Month: June 2016

Tennis: Qualified Athlete List Released

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The International Tennis Federation has announced the full list of qualified athletes based on the ATP and WTA rankings. A nation can only qualify a maximum of six athletes for each gender. The ATP and WTA rankings contain various events throughout the year, specifically events taking place from June 8th 2015 to June 5th 2016.

For the singles the top 56 eligible athletes in the men’s ATP and women’s WTA rankings are qualified to the Olympics. A nation can only qualify a maximum of four athletes in each singles event and the athlete must fulfill their requirements to the Davis and Fed Cup or get special permission. Six quotas are classified as ITF places which are allocated to the (if unqualified) host nation, continental representation (must be in top 300) and former Olympic gold medalists or Grand Slam champions (must be in top 200). Should those quotas not be filled the next highest ranked eligible athlete will qualify. Also two tripartite quotas were allocated to each of the singles events.

For the doubles athletes in the top 10 of the men’s ATP and women’s WTA are qualified. Similarly they must fulfill the Davis and Fed Cup requirements. The athletes can partner with any eligible player from their nation provided that they do not exceed the maximum of two doubles teams in an event. 14 spots go to the teams with the highest combined rankings (singles or doubles). 8 spots are classified as ITF places which are allocated to the (if unqualified) host nation (must have combined ranking of less than 500) and continental representation (must have combined ranking of less than 300). Should those quotas not be filled the next highest ranked doubles will qualify.

The men’s singles list contains a few missing top athletes with the 4 in the top 20 missing. Reasons for not competing ranged from not fulfilling the Davis Cup requirements (South Africa’s Kevin Anderson), issues with their NOC (Australia’s Nick Kyrigos) and wanting to focus on the ATP season (Austria’s Dominic Thiem and United States’ John Isner). Of the four Thiem was the highest ranked athlete at the time of the Olympic rankings publication at seventh.

One of the interesting developments on the men’s side is that the ITF has provisionally included some athletes provided that they compete at the July Davis Cup or have an appeal. This was reserved for athletes who have not completed their Davis Cup requirements; the most notable athlete subjected to this is Spain’s Rafael Nadal. In the men’s singles seven athletes qualified through protected rankings, usually reserved from athletes returning from long term injury. Athletes which qualified through the injury list include. Argentina’s Juan Monaco and Juan Martin del Potro, Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis, Chinese Taipei’s Lu Yen-Hsun, Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz and United States’ Brian Baker. Overall the ITF Places were reallocated to the next best ranked athletes while the tripartite commission selected Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur and Barabdos’ Darian King to compete at the Olympics.

The women’s singles on the other hand had relatively few missing top athletes. Out of the top 40 only two are missing, recently retired Flavia Pennetta of Italy and Russia’s Maria Sharapova whom is serving a doping ban. Three athletes also used their protected rankings as a way to qualify to the Olympics; China’s Peng Shuai, Italy’s Karin Knapp and Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboeva. Also three athletes qualified through the intended use of the ITF Places; Brazil’s Teliana Pereira qualified by being from the host nation, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur qualified by being the highest ranked athlete from Africa and Italy’s Francesca Schiavone qualified by being a former Grand Slam champion. The other three quotas were reallocated to the next highest ranked eligible athletes. The tripartite commission selected Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg and Liechtenstein’s Stephanie Vogt to compete at the Olympics.

Unlike during the ATP and WTA tour doubles pairs must be from the same nation. This has caused many pairs to break-up and compete with someone else for one tournament. In the men’s doubles brother Mike and Bob Bryan of the United States will attempt to depend their gold medal. Overall six athletes will compete with someone else in the top 10 meaning three quotas are reallocated to the combined ranking list. Like with the men’s singles some athletes are provisionally chosen with the expectation that they will compete in July’s Davis Cup competition or submit an appeal. None of the ITF Places were used as intended and were reallocated to the highest combined ranked pairs which applied.

The women’s doubles will have the United States’ Serena and Venus Williams defending their Olympic gold medal. Four athletes will compete with someone else in the top 10 meaning two quotas are reallocated to the combined ranking list. One ITF Place was given to Brazil’s Teliana Pereira and Paula Cristina Goncalves so that the host nation will have participation. The other seven places were reallocated to the highest combined ranked pairs which applied.

The mixed doubles pairs won’t actually be announced until after the Olympics begin. Only players which have already qualified in other events can participate. A total of 16 pairs will compete, with 4 ITF Places included.

 

Athletes by Nations

  • United States – 12
  • Czech Republic – 10
  • France – 9
  • Germany – 9
  • Spain – 9
  • Russia – 8
  • Brazil – 7
  • Great Britain – 7
  • Italy – 7
  • Serbia – 7
  • Ukraine – 7
  • Argentina – 6
  • Australia – 6
  • Switzerland – 6
  • Chinese Taipei – 5
  • Romania – 5
  • Canada – 4
  • China – 4
  • India – 4
  • Japan – 4
  • Kazakhstan – 4
  • Poland – 4
  • Slovakia – 4
  • Belarus – 3
  • Belgium – 3
  • Croatia – 3
  • Netherlands – 3
  • Austria – 2
  • Bulgaria – 2
  • Chile – 2
  • Colombia – 2
  • Hungary – 2
  • Latvia – 2
  • New Zealand – 2
  • Portugal – 2
  • Tunisia – 2
  • Barbados – 1
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina – 1
  • Cyprus – 1
  • Denmark – 1
  • Dominican Republic – 1
  • Israel – 1
  • Liechtenstein – 1
  • Lithuania – 1
  • Luxembourg – 1
  • Montenegro – 1
  • Paraguay – 1
  • Puerto Rico – 1
  • Sweden – 1
  • Uruguay – 1
  • Uzbekistan – 1

 

References

Boxing: Women’s Tripartite Quotas Announced

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AIBA has published the female boxing tripartite quotas. One quota for each weight class was reserved for nations which have qualified less than an average of eight athletes to individual events over the past two Olympics.

Overall Central African Republic received a quota for the women’s flyweight (-51kg), the Federated States of Micronesia received a quota for the women’s lightweight (-60kg) and Panama received a quota for the women’s middleweight (-75kg).

We now know all of the nations which will compete in women’s boxing. The men’s tripartite quotas will likely be announced after the final qualification tournament set to take part next week.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Central African Republic – 1
  • Micronesia – 1
  • Panama -1

 

References

Sailing: Second Round of Reallocations Announced

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World Sailing has announced the second stage reallocation of rejected quotas. In total six boats were rejected by their federation. The highest ranked eligible boat from the 2015 World Championship is granted the reallocation quota.

Four of the boats came from the RS:X events. Canada rejected their quotas from both genders while Sweden rejected the two boats which it gained through the last round of reallocation due to their strict qualifying standards. For the men’s RS:X the boats were reallocated to Chinese Taipei and Turkey while for the women’s RS:X they were reallocated to Latvia and Singapore as Germany also rejected the reallocation quota.  Canada also rejected the men’s 49er boat it was given through the previous round of reallocation thus the boat now goes to Switzerland. The final rejected quota was in the 49erFX where Australia rejected the boat. Initially the boat was reallocated to Croatia, but since they also rejected the quota it has now been given to Austria.

With the exception of Austria in the women’s 49erFX all other boats have been confirmed by their NOC thus we now know the make-up of the races. All that is left is for the final athletes to be announced.

 

Net Quotas by Nations

  • Austria – 1
  • Chinese Taipei – 1
  • Latvia – 1
  • Singapore – 1
  • Switzerland – 1
  • Turkey – 1
  • Australia – -1
  • Sweden – -2
  • Canada – -3

 

References

Weightlifting: 2014/2015 World Championship Olympic Rankings Updated After Doping Removal

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The International Weightlifting Federation has updated the 2014/2015 World Championship Olympic Rankings. This was done to remove athletes whom have been confirmed to have tested positive for doping. This is not the final list as the appeal process has yet to be finished plus Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia could be banned depending on the results of the retesting of 2008 and 2012 Olympic samples.

For the women’s quotas only one major change was done Belarus fell in the rankings where they lost a quota while the Ukraine has moved up to gain a quota. Overall Ukraine will now send four athletes while Belarus will only send three.

The men’s quotas are a bit complicated. Overall Thailand and Moldova have swapped places, resulting in quota changes. Thailand will now send five while Moldova would have initially sent four, but with sanctions due to doping they will now only send two. The big change was Azerbaijan completely falling out of the rankings meaning it fully loses three quotas (in addition to the one quota it already lost due to multiple doping offenses). Overall this results with France moving up from three quotas to four quotas while Japan will now send three athletes.

With Japan now qualifying through the World Olympic Rankings its results from the Asian Championship are now removed. After recalculating Saudi Arabia will now send one athlete. Likewise Azerbaijan’s results at the European Championship will now count. No changes were made. Azerbaijan, however, would have qualified an athlete through the individual rankings, but since they will lose one quota due to multiple doping offenses Azerbaijan will not send an athlete in weightlifting.

As previously said there will be an appeal process plus there is the possibility of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia from being completely banned. Also the IWF has not released the final results from the continental championships meaning there could be more changes due to the result of doping.

 

Net Quotas by Nations

  • Japan – 2
  • France – 1
  • Saudi Arabia – 1
  • Thailand – 1
  • Ukraine – 1
  • Belarus – -1
  • Moldova – -1
  • Azerbaijan – -3

 

References

Rugby Sevens: Spain Wins Women’s Olympic Repechage Tournament

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Spain went undefeated to win the 2016 Women’s Rugby Sevens Olympic Repechage Tournament. 16 nations were split into four groups of four with the top two advancing to the quarter-final. The winner of the tournament qualified as the final team to the Olympics. The Women’s Rugby Sevens Olympic Repechage Tournament was held in Dublin, Ireland from June 25th to June 26th 2016.

Pool A was dominated by Russia as they defeated all three of their opponents scoring more than 47 points each and conceding none. Second place of the group went to Samoa as they defeated Zimbabwe and Madagascar 57-5 and 22-10 respectively. Madagascar finished third by defeating Zimbabwe 19-17.

Pool B was similarly dominated by Spain whom defeated their opponents by a combined score of 121-0.  Tunisia also advanced to the quarter-final with 22-0 and 17-10 victories over Mexico and Venezuela respectively. Since Mexico and Venezuela tied 5-5 in their match third place was decided through point differential where Venezuela’s -52 prevailed over Mexico’s -60.

Pool C had China and Ireland score two victories over Portugal and Trinidad and Tobago to set up a deciding match between the two. Ireland would win the match and the group with a 12-0 victory over China. Portugal finished the group in third place with a 42-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago.

In Pool D Kazakhstan was the least dominant of the pool winners though finished with a +47 point differential. Argentina finished second in the group after narrow 17-12 and 17-15 victories against Cook Islands and Hong Kong respectively. For third place, since Cook Islands and Hong Kong tied 12-12 in their match third place was decided through point differential where Hong Kong’s -11 was just enough to finish ahead of Cook Islands’ -12.

The quarter-final had the group winners all come out victorious and without conceding a point as Russia defeated Argentina 34-0, Ireland defeated Tunisia 38-0, Kazakhstan defeated Samoa 26-0 and Spain defeated China 21-0. The semi-final between Russia and Ireland was close as Russia at times required to play defense, but were able to prevail with a 19-10 victory. Spain booked its spot to the final with a 28-0 victory over Kazakhstan. The final was also an even affair, but it was Spain whom did just enough to win the match and a spot at the Olympics via a 19-12 victory over Russia. Ireland finished third with a 17-5 victory over Kazakhstan.

This was the final opportunity for nations to qualify in rugby sevens. We now know the 12 men and 12 women teams which will compete when rugby sevens makes its debut at the Olympics.

 

Tournament Rankings

  • 1. Spain
  • 2. Russia
  • 3. Ireland
  • 4. Kazakhstan
  • 5. China
  • 6. Argentina
  • 7. Samoa
  • 7. Tunisia
  • 9. Cook Islands
  • 10. Hong Kong
  • 11. Portugal
  • 11. Venezuela
  • 13. Madagascar
  • 14. Zimbabwe
  • 15. Mexico
  • 15. Trinidad and Tobago

 

References

Beach Volleyball: Costa Rica and Cuba Win NORCECA Continental Cup Final

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Costa Rica and Cuba won gold at the NORCECA Continental Cup Final. The Continental Cup features nations with two teams each facing off against each other. Each nation designates a team 1 and a team 2. Each team faces off against the other nation’s teams once with a fifth match consisting of one set played if the series is tied. In total 12 nations faced off against each other in a single elimination tournament. The winner of the NORCECA Continental Cup qualifies to the Olympics. The final of the Beach Volleyball NORCECA Continental Cup was held in Guaymas, Mexico from June 22nd to June 26th 2016.

The first round of the men’s tournament had US Virgin Islands, Saint Lucia, Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago defeating El Salvador, Guatemala, Suriname and Nicaragua respectively. The four first round winners however, were no match for the top four seeds of the tournament as all four lost 3-0 to Canada, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico respectively. The semi-final saw Canada and Cuba pick up 3-0 victories over Puerto Rico and Mexico respectively to book their spot to the final. Despite winning the first match Canada would go on to lose the next three giving Cuba the 3-1 victory and a spot at the Olympics. The bronze medal went to Puerto Rico after defeating Mexico 3-2.

The first round of the women’s tournament had Barbados, Jamaica, Nicaragua and the Cayman Islands defeating Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Saint Lucia and El Salvador respectively. The top four seeds; Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica and Guatemala all had straight series victories over Barbados, Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Nicaragua respectively. The semi-final contained an upset as Costa Rica defeated Cuba going all the way to the fifth match golden set. Mexico also qualified to the final with 3-0 victory over Guatemala. Costa Rica would go on to win the tournament and qualify to the Olympics with a 3-1 victory over Mexico. Cuba finished with the bronze medal after defeating Guatemala 3-0.

There will be one more chance for teams to qualify to the Olympics, at the Final Olympic Continental Cup. The top two teams which failed to qualify; Canada and Puerto Rico for the men and Mexico and Cuba for the women will battle it out for the final spots.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Costa Rica – 1
  • Cuba – 1

 

References

Beach Volleyball: Chile and Venezuela Win CSV Continental Cup Final

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Chile and Venezuela won gold at the CSV Continental Cup Final. The Continental Cup features nations with two teams each facing off against each other. Each nation designates a team 1 and a team 2. In total 6 nations faced off against each other through a five match series in a round robin format. The winner of the South American Continental Cup qualifies to the Olympics. The men’s final of the Beach Volleyball South American Continental Cup was held in Santiago, Chile while the women’s final was held in Rosario, Argentina from June 22nd to June 26th 2016.

The women’s tournament saw Argentina, Paraguay and Venezuela win their first two matches against a combination of Chile, Colombia and Uruguay. In a battle between undefeated teams Venezuela defeated Paraguay 3-1 in the third set of matches while Uruguay won its first match over Chile. Argentina suffered a setback as one of their team members suffered an injury and had to withdraw, helping Colombia to secure their first victory. Argentina was unable to recover from the injury and was essentially forced to forfeit to Venezuela on the fourth day of matches. Venezuela’s win along with Uruguay’s and Colombia’s victories over Paraguay and Chile respectively meant Venezuela qualified to the Olympics. Fifth day saw Colombia, Venezuela and Paraguay score victories over Uruguay, Chile and Argentina respectively.

The men’s tournament began similarly as the women’s with Argentina, Chile and Venezuela winning their first two matches against a combination of Colombia, French Guiana and Uruguay. As a reminder French Guiana cannot qualify to the Olympics as they do not have their own NOC. On the third set of matches Venezuela gave Argentina its first loss by winning 3-1. Chile also remained undefeated with a 3-1 victory over Colombia. Both Chile and Venezuela remained undefeated after the fourth set of matches with wins over Argentina and French Guiana respectively. On the fifth and final day Chile was able to qualify to the Olympics after a hard fought 3-2 victory over Venezuela.

There will be one more chance for teams to qualify to the Olympics, at the Final Olympic Continental Cup. The top two teams which failed to qualify; Venezuela and Uruguay for the men and Paraguay and Colombia for the women will battle it out for the final spots.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Chile – 1
  • Venezuela – 1

 

References

Beach Volleyball: Austria and Netherlands Win CEV Continental Cup Final

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Austria and the Netherlands won gold at the CEV Continental Cup Final. The Continental Cup features nations with two teams each facing off against each other. Each nation designates a team 1 and a team 2. In the first two matches team 1 faces off against the other nation’s team 2. In the event that the series is split a final match using any team is played. In total 16 nations faced off against each other in a single elimination tournament. The winner of the European Continental Cup qualifies to the Olympics. The final of the Beach Volleyball European Continental Cup was held in Stavanger, Norway from June 22nd to June 26th 2016.

The women’s tournament saw Ukraine as the tournament’s upset package as the team went through Norway, Sweden and Austria as they booked their spot to the final. The other half of the bracket was relatively upset free where the Czech Republic and the Netherlands met in the semi-final. The Netherlands booked its spot to the final as their number two team defeated the Czech’s number one team to give the Netherlands a 2-0 series victory. In the final a third match was required as the Netherlands became the victorious nation to book their spot to the Olympics. In the bronze medal match the Czech Republic defeated Austria 2-0.

One of the interesting aspects of the Continental Cup is the fact that two beach volleyball teams are competing for one nation. Sometimes you have a nation with a strong team and a relatively weaker team. An excellent example was seen in the men’s tournament where Belgium contained a 10th seed and a 32nd seed team. For every single match involving Belgium the nation had to play three matches with the 10th seed team playing the deciding third match. Despite the increased play time Belgium was able to reach the final as they defeated Greece, Norway and Spain along the way. In the other semi-final Austria defeated Russia in a 2-1 series. Belgium’s luck however, would run out in the final as Austria booked its spot to the Olympics with a 2-1 victory. Russia won the bronze medal by defeating Spain 2-0.

There will be one more chance for teams to qualify to the Olympics, at the Final Olympic Continental Cup. The top two teams which failed to qualify; Belgium and Russia for the men and Ukraine and the Czech Republic for the women will battle it out for the final spots.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Austria – 1
  • Netherlands – 1

 

References

Beach Volleyball: Australia and Qatar Win AVC Continental Cup Final

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Australia and Qatar booked their tickets to the Olympics after victories at the AVC Continental Cup Final. The Continental Cup features nations with two teams each facing off against each other. Each nation designates a team 1 and a team 2. In the first two matches team 1 faces off against the other nation’s team 2. In the event that the series is split a final match using any team is played. In total 8 nations faced off against each other in a single elimination tournament. The winner of the Asian/Oceania Continental Cup qualifies to the Olympics. The final of the Beach Volleyball Asian/Oceania Continental Cup was held in Cairns, Australia from June 24th to June 26th 2016.

In the women’s quarter-final, China, Vanuatu and Australia all won their matches 2-0 against Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei respectively. It was the match between Japan and Thailand which required three matches where Japan’s top team prevailed over Thailand’s top team in a 2-0 match. Both semi-final matches required a third match as Australia and Vanuatu booked their spot to the final with a 2-1 victory over Japan and China respectively. Australia would go on the claim the sole Olympic berth with a 2-0 victory over Vanuatu. China won the bronze medal after defeating Japan 2-0.

The men’s quarter-final matches had Qatar, Kazakhstan and Australia sweep the series to win over Iran, Japan and Indonesia respectively. China and New Zealand required a third match where China won 2-1. The semi-final saw a bit of an upset as top ranked Australia was defeated 2-0 by China. Qatar also reached the final with a 2-0 victory over Kazakhstan. The final saw Qatar secure the Olympic quota with a 2-0 victory over China. This will be Qatar’s debut in beach volleyball at the Olympics. Kazakhstan won the bronze medal after defeating Australia 2-1.

There will be one more chance for teams to qualify to the Olympics, at the Final Olympic Continental Cup. The top two teams which failed to qualify; China and Kazakhstan for the men and Vanuatu and China for the women will battle it out for the final spots.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Australia – 1
  • Qatar – 1

 

References

Boxing: 29 Nations Qualify After World Qualification Tournament

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29 nations qualified at least one athlete after the 2016 Boxing World Olympic Qualification Tournament. One quota was available in the heavyweight and super heavyweight, two quotas were available in the men’s light flyweight and five quotas were available in the other seven events. In the events with five quotas the quarter-finalist whom lost to the eventual winner qualified as the fifth best athlete. The AIBA World Olympic Qualification Tournament was held in Baku, Azerbaijan from June 16th to June 25th 2016.

Overall nine nations won a gold medal among the ten events. The only nation which won two gold medals was Azerbaijan whom won gold in the light flyweight (-49kg) and light heavyweight (-81kg). In the light flyweight Rufat Huseynov defeated Spain’s Samuel Carmona in the final. In the light heavyweight 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Teymur Mammadov defeated Germany’s Serge Michel in the final. Also qualifying were Russia’s Petr Khamukov, Belarus’ Mikhail Dauhaliavets and Morocco’s Hassan Saada. Azerbaijan also qualified a third athlete in the middleweight (-75kg) where Kamran Shakhsuvarly lost to the eventual gold medalist Michael O’Reilly of Ireland whom defeated Turkmenistan’s Arslanbek Achilov in the final. Also qualifying in the middleweight are Iraq’s Waheed Abdul-Ridha and India’s Vikas Yadav.

The only other nation to have qualified three athletes from this event was France. Souleymane Cissokho defeated Hungary’s Imre Bacskai to win the welterweight (-69kg). Also qualifying were Belarus’ Pavel Kastramin, Great Britain’s Josh Kelly and Bulgaria’s Simeon Chamov. The other two French athletes which qualified were Elie Konki in the flyweight (-52kg) and Hassan Amzile in the light welterweight (-64kg). The flyweight was won by Bulgaria’s Daniel Asenov whom defeated United States’ Antonio Vargas. Also qualifying were Turkey’s Selcuk Eker and Mongolia’s Kharkhuugiin Enkh-Amar. The light welterweight was won by Great Britain’s Pat McCormack whom defeated Haiti’s Richardson Hitchins. Also qualifying were United States’ Gary Russell and India’s Monoj Kumar.

The bantamweight (-56kg) was won by 2013 World Championship bronze medalist Mykola Butsenko of Ukraine whom defeated Mongolia’s Erdenebatyn Tsendbaatar. Also qualifying were Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez, Japan’s Arashi Morisaka and Algeria’s Fahem Hammachi. Netherlands’ Enrico Lacruz defeated Tajikistan’s Anvar Yunusov in the final of the lightweight (-60kg) event. Also qualifying are China’s Shan Jun, Chinese Taipei’s Lai Chun-En and Qatar’s Hakan Erseker. The lone quotas for the heavyweight (-90kg) and super heavyweight (+90kg) went to Poland’s Igor Jakubowski and Italy’s Guido Vianello respectively.

There will be one more opportunity for male boxers to qualify to the Olympics, the APB and WSB qualifier which will allow professional boxers to qualify, provided a nation has not already qualified in that event.

 

Quotas by Nations

  • Azerbaijan – 3
  • France – 3
  • Belarus – 2
  • Bulgaria – 2
  • Germany – 2
  • India – 2
  • Mongolia – 2
  • United States – 2
  • Algeria – 1
  • China – 1
  • Chinese Taipei – 1
  • Cuba – 1
  • Great Britain – 1
  • Haiti – 1
  • Hungary – 1
  • Iraq – 1
  • Ireland – 1
  • Italy – 1
  • Japan – 1
  • Morocco – 1
  • Netherlands – 1
  • Poland – 1
  • Qatar – 1
  • Russia – 1
  • Spain – 1
  • Tajikistan – 1
  • Turkey – 1
  • Turkmenistan – 1
  • Ukraine – 1

 

References