Athletics: Relay Nations Qualified By Aggregate Times Revealed

The final relays in athletics have been revealed by the IAAF. Of the nations which have yet to qualify, they are ranked by the aggregate times of their best two performances over the qualification period. The top eight nations from each relay event qualify to the Olympics. The relay times can only be performed in approved events ranging from May 1st 2015 to June 11th 2016.

For the men’s relays the nations which qualified in the 4x100m are China, Canada, Antigua and Barbuda, Great Britain, Netherlands, Turkey, Dominican Republic and Cuba. The nations which qualified in the 4x400m are Cuba, France, Russia, Dominican Republic, Poland, Colombia, India and Venezuela.

For the women’s relays the nations which qualified in the 4x100m are Netherlands, Germany, Ukraine, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, France and Ghana. The nations which qualified in the 4x400m are Nigeria, Russia, Ukraine, Italy, Germany, India, Romania and Netherlands.

While Russia is listed in the rankings their participation is conditional on the CAS ruling. Should Russia remain banned in athletics the relays will be reallocated to the next highest ranked nation, specifically Japan (men’s 4x400m), Poland (women’s 4x100m) and Bahamas (women’s 4x400m).

 

Quotas by Nations

• Netherlands – 3
• Russia – 3
• China – 2
• Cuba – 2
• Dominican Republic – 2
• France – 2
• Germany – 2
• India – 2
• Ukraine -2
• Antigua and Barbuda – 1
• Canada – 1
• Colombia – 1
• Ghana – 1
• Great Britain – 1
• Italy – 1
• Kazakhstan – 1
• Nigeria – 1
• Poland – 1
• Romania – 1
• Turkey – 1
• Venezuela – 1

 

References

• IAAF. Best Relay Performances (updated as at 11 July 2016). Access on July 13 2016.

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

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

• NORCECA. NORCECA Men’s Beach Continental Cup Final. Access on June 26 2016.
• NORCECA. NORCECA Women’s Beach Continental Cup Final. Access on June 26 2016.

Boxing: 29 Nations Qualify After World Qualification Tournament

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

• AIBA. 2016 World Olympic Qualification Event. Access on June 25 2016.

Weightlifting: Canada and Cuba Qualify in Both Genders At Pan American Championship

Canada and Cuba topped their respective team Olympic rankings at the 2016 Pan American Weightlifting Championship. The team Olympic rankings are constructed from points obtained from the top six men or top four women out of the nations which have not already qualified. The top seven men’s teams and the top four women’s teams qualify one athlete each. The Pan American Weightlifting Championship was held in Cartagena, Colombia from June 6th to June 11th 2016.

Canada was the top nation in the women’s events where they accumulated 109 points. They were followed by Puerto Rico whom finished with 103 points. Being anchored by gold medal winner Maria Valdes in the women’s -75kg Chile finished in third with 101 points while Cuba grabbed the final quota as they finished with 97 points.

One of the biggest shocks of the championship came in the men’s events where regional powerhouse Venezuela had their first three lifters fail to finish their event, leaving only five athletes left to compete. Overall Cuba topped the Olympic rankings, finishing with a total of 148 points. Ecuador finished in second with 143 points while Mexico and the United States finished equal at 141 points. Dominican Republic and Peru also qualified to the Olympics with 129 and 126 points respectively. Despite having only five remaining lifters Venezuela was still in a position to qualify going into the final event. Canada however, spoiled the unlikely achievement by doing just enough to win the final Olympic quota, finishing with a total of 118 points, just 1 point ahead of Venezuela.

This was the final continental qualifier in weightlifting. Unqualified nations can still qualify through the individual rankings where the cut-off will occur in the coming weeks. Also left to decide are the tripartite quotas.

 

Quotas by Nations

• Canada – 2
• Cuba – 2
• Chile – 1
• Dominican Republic – 1
• Ecuador – 1
• Mexico – 1
• Peru – 1
• Puerto Rico – 1
• United States – 1

 

References

• IWF. Pan American Weightlifting Championship Results. Access on June 11 2016.

Judo: Olympic Rankings Published 113 Nations Qualify

113 nations qualified through the Judo Olympic Rankings. Athletes earned points through various world and continental events over a two year period. There were two methods of qualifying. First the top 22 men and top 14 women qualify with a maximum of one NOC per weight class. Second are the continental qualifiers. The highest ranked, not yet qualified athletes across all events can qualify. Each continent has a set amount of quotas; Africa 24 (14 men, 10 women), Europe 25 (14 men, 11 women), Asia 20 (12 men, 8 women), Oceania 10 (7 men, 3 women), and Pan America 21 (13 men, 8 women). A nation can only earn one spot across all events through this and a single continent can qualify a maximum of two athletes in a single event. The qualification period lasted from May 30th 2014 to May 29th 2016.

In total 113 nations have qualified with France and Japan joining hosts Brazil as being the only nation to have qualified a full team of men and women. Also qualifying a full men’s team are Georgia, Germany, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea and Uzbekistan. Overall 53 nations only qualified through the continental rankings while 14 nations did not receive a continental quota. Oceania did not allocate all 10 of its continental quotas thus the unused quota was reallocated to the athlete with the most points and is not yet qualified among all events, specifically Uzbekistan’s Soyib Kurbonov in the men’s -100kg.

The quotas are tied to the athletes by name with the exception of where multiple athletes from the same nation finished in the top 22 for men and top 14 for women where the nation can choose from among them. All that is left to determine in judo is the tripartite quotas.

 

Quotas by Nations

• France – 14
• Japan – 14
• Germany – 13
• Mongolia – 13
• South Korea – 12
• Netherlands – 11
• Russia – 11
• Cuba – 9
• Canada – 8
• China – 8
• Georgia – 8
• Hungary – 8
• Uzbekistan – 8
• Australia – 7
• Great Britain – 7
• Israel – 7
• Ukraine – 7
• Azerbaijan – 6
• Portugal – 6
• United States – 6
• Algeria – 5
• Austria – 5
• Belgium – 5
• Egypt – 5
• Italy – 5
• Kazakhstan – 5
• Slovenia – 5
• Spain – 5
• Poland – 4
• Romania – 4
• Sweden – 4
• Tunisia – 4
• Turkey – 4
• Czech Republic – 3
• Ecuador – 3
• Iran – 3
• Morocco – 3
• North Korea – 3
• Switzerland – 3
• United Arab Emirates – 3
• Argentina – 2
• Belarus – 2
• Bulgaria – 2
• Chinese Taipei – 2
• Colombia – 2
• Gabon – 2
• Greece – 2
• Kosovo – 2
• Kyrgyzstan – 2
• Latvia – 2
• Mexico – 2
• Puerto Rico – 2
• South Africa – 2
• Tajikistan – 2
• Turkmenistan – 2
• American Samoa – 1
• Angola – 1
• Armenia – 1
• Aruba – 1
• Benin – 1
• Bolivia – 1
• Bosnia and Herzegovina – 1
• Burkina Faso – 1
• Cameroon – 1
• Chile – 1
• Congo – 1
• Costa Rica – 1
• Côte d’Ivoire – 1
• Croatia – 1
• Dominican Republic – 1
• El Salvador – 1
• Estonia – 1
• Fiji – 1
• Finland – 1
• Gambia – 1
• Ghana – 1
• Guatemala – 1
• Guinea-Bissau – 1
• Haiti – 1
• Honduras – 1
• Iceland – 1
• India – 1
• Iraq – 1
• Jordan – 1
• Kenya – 1
• Lebanon – 1
• Libya – 1
• Lithuania – 1
• Madagascar – 1
• Mali – 1
• Mauritius – 1
• Moldova – 1
• Mozambique – 1
• Nauru – 1
• New Zealand – 1
• Niger – 1
• Pakistan – 1
• Palau – 1
• Papua New Guinea – 1
• Peru – 1
• Qatar – 1
• Samoa – 1
• Saudi Arabia – 1
• Senegal – 1
• Serbia – 1
• Seychelles – 1
• Thailand – 1
• Trinidad and Tobago – 1
• Uruguay – 1
• Vanuatu – 1
• Venezuela – 1
• Vietnam – 1
• Zambia – 1

 

References

• IJF. Judo Base Olympic Quotas by Nations. Access on June 4 2016.
• IJF. Judo Base Men’s Olympic Rankings. Access on June 4 2016.
• IJF. Judo Base Women’s Olympic Rankings. Access on June 4 2016.

Cycling Road: Women’s Olympic Rankings Published

The Union Cycliste Internationale has published the Women’s Olympic Qualification Rankings which are used to allocate the majority of competitors in women’s road race and time trial. Athletes can earn points for their nation in UCI approved events. For the women’s road race initially the top 5 nations earn four athlete quotas, nations ranked 6th to 13th earn three quotas and nations ranked 14th to 22nd earn two quotas. However, if an athlete is ranked in the top 100 in the individual rankings and their nation did not qualify through the nation rankings they will earn their nation a maximum of one quota. The quota is subtracted from the lowest ranked nations (those nations can only lose a maximum of one quota). For the time trial the top 15 nations from the rankings will be allowed to send one athlete which has qualified from the road race. The Women’s Olympic Qualification Rankings are calculated from various events held from June 1st 2015 to May 31st 2016.

For the women’s road race the women’s individual rankings contained 12 nations where athletes finished in the top 100, but their nation did not finished in the top 22 in the nation rankings. They are Chinese Taipei (Huang Ting Ying), Norway (Emile Moberg), Brazil (Flavia Oliveira), Azerbaijan (Olena Pavlukhina), Thailand (Jutatip Maneephan), Austria (Martina Ritter), Slovenia (Polana Batagelj), Lithuania (Daiva Tuslaite), Cyprus (Antri Christoforou), Israel (Shani Bloch), Japan (Mayuko Hagiwara) and Chile (Paola Munoz). This has caused nations ranked from 11 to 22 to lose one quota. Netherlands, United States, Italy, Australia and Germany qualified four athlete quotas. Poland, Sweden, Great Britain, Canada and Belgium qualified three athlete quotas. France, South Africa and Luxembourg qualified two athlete quotas. Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Finland, Cuba, New Zealand, Mexico, Switzerland and Spain qualified one athlete quota. Since Cuba qualified through the nation rankings its continental qualifier quota was reallocated to the next best ranked eligible nation from the Pan American qualifier, specifically Venezuela. Also since Brazil qualified one quota through the rankings one of their host quota will be reallocated to the highest ranked nation not yet qualified, Colombia.

The nations which qualified through the women’s time trial are as follows; Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine and the United States. As a reminder these nations do not gain an athlete quota, they must use athletes which were qualified from the road race. Due to this rule both the Czech Republic and Russia which qualified quotas from the 2015 World Championship do not have enough athletes to fill that spot. The quotas have now been reallocated to the next highest eligible ranked nation from the event, specifically Japan and Sweden.

This was the final opportunity for nations to qualify to the Olympics in all disciplines of cycling. All that is left is for nations to confirm the quotas in which they were given.

 

Athletes by Nations

• Australia – 4
• Germany – 4
• Italy – 4
• Netherlands – 4
• United States – 4
• Belgium – 3
• Canada – 3
• Great Britain – 3
• Poland – 3
• Sweden – 3
• France – 2
• Luxembourg – 2
• South Africa – 2
• Austria – 1
• Azerbaijan – 1
• Belarus – 1
• Brazil – 1
• Chile – 1
• Chinese Taipei – 1
• Colombia – 1
• Cuba – 1
• Cyprus – 1
• Finland – 1
• Israel – 1
• Japan – 1
• Lithuania – 1
• Mexico – 1
• New Zealand – 1
• Norway – 1
• Russia – 1
• Slovenia – 1
• Spain – 1
• Switzerland – 1
• Thailand – 1
• Ukraine – 1

 

References

• UCI. Athletes quota for road cycling women’s events. Access on June 1 2016.

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

• laniercanoe2016. 2016 Pan Am Sprint Canoe Championships & Olympic Qualifier. Access on May 21 2016.

Badminton: Olympic Qualification Rankings Released

With the final update of the Olympic Badminton Rankings the initial lists of qualified athletes have been announced. The Olympic Badminton Rankings included tournaments such as the World Championships, Continental Championships, Grand Prixes and others. The ranking period for the Olympic Badminton Rankings were from May 5th 2015 to May 1st 2016.

The top 34 athletes in the single rankings qualified to the Olympics. However, there is a maximum of two athletes per nation if both athletes are in the top 16 in the overall rankings. If not the maximum quota for each nation is one. Also all five continents must be represented with the highest ranking athlete from the continent automatically qualifying. The tripartite quotas also count towards the continental representation.

For the doubles rankings the top 16 teams qualified to the Olympics. Similarly, there is a maximum of two teams per nation if both teams are in the top 8 in the overall rankings. If not the maximum quota for each nation is one team. Also all continents that have at least one team in the top 50 will be granted a spot to the Olympics.

Overall China qualified the most quotas, winning the maximum of two entrants in all five events. In addition Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and the United States have at least one qualified entrant in all five events. In total, 41 nations have qualified at least one athlete.

There have been some reallocations due to the same athlete competing in two events. For the men China’s Zhang Nan, Germany’s Michael Fuchs and United States’ Phillip Chew have qualified in both the men’s doubles and mixed doubles. Brazil also qualified through the men’s singles releasing its host quota. These quotas will be reallocated to the men’s singles benefitting Portugal’s Pedro Martins, Austria’s David Obernorsterer, Canada’s Martin Giuffre and Czech Republic’s Petr Koukal.

Similarly China’s Zhao Yunlei, Denmark’s Christinna Pedersen and Netherlands’ Selena Piek qualified both in the women’s doubles and mixed doubles. These extra quotas will be reallocated to the women’s singles benefitting Switzerland’s Sabrina Jaquet, Ireland’s Chloe Magee and Portugal’s Telma Santos.

Also Australia will have to give up two of its continental quotas due to the rule allowing a nation to only benefit from a maximum of two continental quotas. The quotas will be reallocated to the next best eligible nation from Oceania first. If there are no eligible nations it will be reallocated to the next best ranked eligible nation regardless of continent.

Confirmation of quotas and tripartite invitations still remain so there will be a few changes between now and at the beginning of the Olympics, but for the most part the majority of athletes here will compete at the Olympics.

 

Quotas by Nations

• China – 10
• South Korea – 9
• Denmark – 6
• Indonesia – 6
• Japan – 6
• Germany – 5
• Great Britain – 5
• Hong Kong – 5
• India – 5
• Malaysia – 5
• Thailand – 5
• United States – 5
• Australia – 4
• Poland – 3
• Russia – 3
• Chinese Taipei – 3
• Austria – 2
• Belgium – 2
• Bulgaria – 2
• Canada – 2
• Czech Republic – 2
• France – 2
• Ireland – 2
• Netherlands – 2
• Portugal – 2
• Singapore – 2
• Spain – 2
• Ukraine – 2
• Vietnam – 2
• Cuba – 1
• Estonia – 1
• Finland – 1
• Guatemala – 1
• Israel – 1
• Italy – 1
• Mauritius – 1
• South Africa – 1
• Sweden – 1
• Switzerland – 1
• Turkey – 1

 

References

• BWF. Race to Rio – BWF Olympic Qualification. Access on May 7 2016.

Gymnastics: Test Event Decide Remaining Quotas

France and Germany qualified a full artistic team, Germany and Uzbekistan qualified both an individual and team in rhythmic gymnastics and Portugal and the United States qualified an athlete in both genders in trampoline at the 2016 Gymnastics Olympic Test Event. The Olympic test event featured all three disciplines in gymnastics. In artistic gymnastics the top four all-around teams will qualify along with eligible all-around individuals until the total quota of 97 men and 97 women have been met including continental representation. In trampoline eight quotas for each gender are available to the top eligible athletes, including continental representation. Two of these quotas are meant for the host Brazil and the tripartite though gender is not specified. In rhythmic gymnastics the top three all-around teams and the top nine all-around individuals, including continental representation will qualify. The Gymnastics Olympic Test Event was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from April 16th to April 22nd 2016.

 

Artistic

In the men’s team all-around competition it was Germany whom led all nations with a score of 350.609. After a relatively weak floor performance the team posted top three results in all of the other apparatuses including a top performance in the parallel bars. Ukraine followed close behind with a final score of 350.160. The team had a good performance at the beginning including a very strong first place in the pommel horse, but ultimately lost pace to Germany. The other two nations which booked a team spot were the Netherlands who will compete in the men’s team event for the first time in its history and France. Inconsistencies including a horrible start on the pommel horse ultimately cost Spain a spot in the team event.

Nations which competed in the team event, but did not qualify are eligible to pick any athlete to compete at the Olympics. These nations are Romania, Spain, Belgium and Canada. Continental representation (1 for Oceania, 2 for other continents) was not met for Africa as only one athlete qualified through the test event. This meant the highest ranked African athlete from the 2015 World Championship, Algeria’s Mohamed Bourguieg qualified to the Olympics. Nations which had two athletes competing and both athletes finishing higher than the lowest ranked qualifier will have the opportunity to pick which one of the two athletes will compete. These nations are Colombia, Mexico and Hungary.

The following athletes are qualified to the Olympics based on the order from the individual all-around event; Andrey Likhovitskiy (Belarus), Alexander Shatilov (Isarael), Ferhat Arican (Turkey), Artur Davtyan (Armenia), Randy Leru (Cuba), Filip Ude (Croatia), Petro Pakhnyuk (Azerbaijan), Anton Fokin (Uzbekistan), Oskar Kirmes (Finland), Ludovico Edalli (Italy), Stian Skjerahaug (Norway), David Jessen (Czech Republic), Robert Tvorogal (Lithuania), Pham Phuoc Hung (Vietnam), Marios Georgiou (Cyprus), Kieran Behan (Ireland), Vlasios Maras (Greece), Gustavo Palma Simoes (Portugal), Mikhail Koudinoc (New Zealand), Ryan Patterson (South Africa), Tomas Gonzalez (Chile) and Lee Chih Kai (Chinese Taipei).

The women’s team all-around event was topped by Brazil whom finished with a score of 226.477. The team had a great performance, finishing first in the balance beam, floor and vault. Despite a poor performance on the uneven bars second place Germany was unable to close the gap completely, finishing with an overall score of 223.977. Also qualifying to the Olympics are Belgium and France. In one of the most shocking news in gymnastics Romania, medalists at every Olympics since 1976 will not be sending a team as a poor uneven bars contributed to their seventh place finish.

Nations which competed in the team event, but did not qualify are eligible to choose any athlete to compete at the Olympics. These nations are Australia, Switzerland, Romania and South Korea. Continental representation (1 for Oceania, 2 for the other continents) was not met for Africa as no athletes were qualified at the end of the test event. This meant the highest ranked African athletes from the 2015 World Championships, specifically; Algeria’s Farah Boufadene and South Africa’s Claudia Cummins have qualified to the Olympics. Nations which had two athletes competing and both athletes finishing higher than the lowest ranked qualifier will have the opportunity to pick which one of two athletes will compete. These nations are Greece, Hungary, Spain, Mexico and Poland.

The following athletes are qualified to the Olympics based on the order from the individual all-around event; Ana Sofia Gomez (Guatemala), Jessica Lopez Arocha (Venezuela), Angelina Kysla (Ukraine), Marcia Vidiaux (Cuba), Filipa Martins (Portugal), Lisa Ecker (Austria), Toni-Ann Williams (Jamaica), Irina Sazonova (Iceland), Phan Thu Ha Thanh (Vietnam), Dipa Karmakar (India), Barbora Mokosova (Slovakia), Courtney McGregor (New Zealand), Oksana Chusovitina (Uzbekistan), Houry Gebeshian (Armenia), Ariana Orrego (Peru), Simona Castro (Chile), Teja Belak (Slovenia), Tutya Yilmaz (Turkey), Emma Larsson (Sweden), Marisa Dick (Trinidad and Tobago), Ana Derek (Croatia), Catalina Escobar Gomez (Colombia), Kylie Dickson (Belarus), Ellis O’Reilly (Ireland) and Ailen Valente (Argentina).

 

Trampoline

The qualification round of the women’s trampoline was topped by Li Dan of China whom scored 102.480 after her two performances. In the final however, Li had a subpar performance and finished in fifth. The event was instead won by her compatriot Liu Lingling whom finished with a score of 55.485. China along with Belarus has already previously qualified to the Olympics while other nations were allowed to only qualify one athlete. The Olympic quotas went to Russia, Ukraine, Japan, Uzbekistan, Germany, Portugal and the United States. While the last spot is expected to go to a tripartite nation it will likely eventually be reallocated to the next best ranked nation, France.

Before the competition began Brazil declared that it will use its host quota on the men’s trampoline, leaving the men one fewer qualification spot. The qualification round of the men’s trampoline was topped by China’s Gao Lei whom scored 110.660 after his two performances. A mistake and a fall in the final cost Gao the event as he finished in eighth. The winner of the event was Belarus’ Uladzislau Hancharou whom finished with a score of 59.750. China along with Belarus has already previously qualified to the Olympics while other nations were allowed to only qualify one athlete. The Olympic quotas went to New Zealand, Portugal, United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada and as mentioned before Brazil obtained a quota for being the host nation. While the last spot is currently reserved for a tripartite nation it could potentially be reallocation to the next best ranked nation, Kazakhstan.

 

Rhythmic

The qualification round of the individual all-around was led by Belarus’ Melitina Staniouta whom finished with the top score in all four rotations for a total of 72.215 points. However, Belarus has already qualified to the Olympics. The following athletes qualified to the Olympics; Sabina Ashirbayeva (Kazakhstan), Nicol Ruprecht (Austria), Veronica Berolini (Italy), Ekaterina Volkova (Finland), Anastasiya Serdyukova (Uzbekistan), Ana Luiza Filiorianu (Romania), Shang Rong (China) and Jana Berezko-Marggrander. Also since Oceania did not qualify an athlete Australia’s Danielle Prince has been given a continental quota. An African quota will be given either through the tripartite commission or through the best ranked athlete from the 2015 World Championships (South Africa). In addition Brazil announced that it will use its host quota on Natalia Gaudio. The final was again topped by Staniouta whom finished with a score of 70.749.

A direct final for the team all-around was held. Germany won the event by being the best team in the two rotations finishing with a score of 33.183. The other two Olympic quotas went to silver medalist Uzbekistan (32.832) and bronze medalist Greece (31.982).

This was the final opportunity for nations to qualify to the Olympics in gymnastics. All that is remaining is to decide on the tripartite places. Overall China and Russia will be sending the largest teams with 20 athletes each while Japan and the United States will also compete in all of the events.

 

Athletes by Nations

• Germany – 16
• France – 10
• Uzbekistan – 9
• Greece – 7
• Ukraine – 7
• Belgium – 6
• Brazil – 5
• Netherlands – 5
• Portugal – 4
• Australia – 3
• New Zealand – 3
• Romania – 3
• Algeria – 2
• Armenia – 2
• Austria – 2
• Belarus – 2
• Canada – 2
• Chile – 2
• Colombia – 2
• Croatia – 2
• Cuba – 2
• Finland – 2
• Hungary – 2
• Ireland – 2
• Italy – 2
• Mexico – 2
• South Africa – 2
• Spain – 2
• Turkey – 2
• United States – 2
• Vietnam – 2
• Argentina – 1
• Azerbaijan – 1
• China – 1
• Chinese Taipei – 1
• Cyprus – 1
• Czech Republic – 1
• Great Britain – 1
• Guatemala – 1
• Iceland – 1
• India – 1
• Israel – 1
• Jamaica – 1
• Japan – 1
• Kazakhstan – 1
• Lithuania – 1
• Norway – 1
• Peru – 1
• Poland – 1
• Russia – 1
• Slovakia – 1
• Slovenia – 1
• South Korea – 1
• Sweden – 1
• Switzerland – 1
• Trinidad and Tobago – 1
• Venezuela – 1

 

References

• FIG. Final Gymnastics Qualifier (Test Event) – Schedule and Results. Access on April 22 2016.

Rowing: Update on Latin America Regatta Qualifiers

FISA has given us an update about the qualified boats from the Latin America Regatta. Since a nation can only qualify one boat per gender some nations had to choose which event they will compete in meaning the other boat was reallocated to the next highest ranked nation. Also there was a slight change to the qualification format where the host quota reallocation now goes to the next highest ranked nation from the Latin America Regatta. Since Brazil has already qualified there will be seven quotas available in the single sculls for both genders. Here’s a list of qualified boats.

 

Men’s Single Sculls

1. Mexico
2. Argentina
3. Peru
4. Uruguay
5. Venezuela
6. Ecuador
7. Paraguay

 

Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls

1. Brazil
2. Cuba
3. Chile

 

Women’s Single Sculls

1. Bermuda
2. Mexico
3. Trinidad and Tobago
4. Argentina
5. Paraguay
6. Peru
7. Bahamas

 

Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls

1. Brazil
2. Cuba
3. Chile

 

References

• FISA. 2016 Rowing Olympic and Paralympic Qualification By Event. Access on April 20 2016.