Olympics: A look at the status of qualifying events for Tokyo 2020

The International Olympic Committee has acknowledged there was no “ideal” solution to staging this summer's Tokyo Olympics.

Published : Mar 19, 2020 13:16 IST , Washington

The International Olympic Committee hoopes to conduct the 2020 Olympics on schedule.
The International Olympic Committee hoopes to conduct the 2020 Olympics on schedule.
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The International Olympic Committee hoopes to conduct the 2020 Olympics on schedule.

As the International Olympic Committee (IOC) attempts to keep the 2020 Olympics on schedule, many of the events that determine who would compete in Tokyo have been postponed or cancelled.

Here is the status of world qualifying in many of the Olympic disciplines:

ATHLETICS

The U.S. Olympic track and field trials are still scheduled for June 19-28 in Eugene, Oregon. Other countries use a variety of methods, including trials, world rankings, and appointment based on results.

BASKETBALL

Men: Eight teams have already qualified. The remaining spots in the 12-nation field will be determined in four winner-take-all, six-team tournaments scheduled from June 23-28 in Serbia, Canada, Croatia and Lithuania.

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Women: The 12-team field was filled in February with four tournaments. Although defending world champion United States and the host Japanese were already guaranteed spots, both finished in position to qualify anyway.

3x3: FIBA has postponed the qualifying tournament scheduled for March 18-22 in India. A second qualifying tournament scheduled for April in Hungary is in limbo. Four women’s teams and four men’s teams have already qualified for the eight-country fields.

BOXING

Two of the four regional Olympic qualification tournaments already have taken place, but the third for European fighters in London was suspended on Monday after the third day of its 11-day schedule.

The Americas qualifier scheduled for March 26 in Buenos Aires also won’t take place, nor will the last-chance World Olympic Qualifying Tournament scheduled for May 13 in Paris.

The IOC Boxing Task Force is still working on a plan for replacing the qualification events, but it intends to award the remaining Olympic spots in May and June.

FIELD HOCKEY

Tournaments to fill the 12-team men’s and women’s fields were completed in 2019. Ten countries qualified for both: Australia, Argentina, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the Netherlands and Britain.

GOLF

Sixty golfers are determined by the world rankings, two per country with a maximum of four if they are among the top 15. The PGA Tour and European Tour, which offer the most ranking points, have canceled or postponed all events at least through April 12.

GYMNASTICS

The team fields for both men’s and women’s gymnastics were set at last year’s world championships. The remaining individual all-around and single apparatus spots are determined at World Cup events. The International Gymnastics Federation has cancelled an all-around World Cup event in Germany and postponed an apparatus World Cup event in Qatar from March until early June.

JUDO

The International Judo Federation has canceled all Olympic qualifiers through April 30, including a Grand Slam and two Grand Prix. Another Grand Prix last weekend, in Morocco, was canceled earlier. Qualifying ends on May 25.

ROWING

World Rowing has canceled a European Olympic qualifying regatta that was scheduled for April 27-29 in Varese, Italy, and relocation is being considered. US Rowing said Olympic trials in Sarasota, Florida, from March 16-21 and April 13-18 have been postponed and the organization will not hold a national team event for at least 30 days.

SOCCER

Men: Fourteen of 16 teams have already qualified. The tournament to produce the two teams from the North and Central American and Caribbean region was scheduled for March 20 to April 1 in Guadalajara, Mexico, but was indefinitely postponed.

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Women: Ten of 12 teams have already qualified, including the reigning World Cup champion United States. China and South Korea were scheduled to play in a two-legged playoff that has been pushed back to early June. Cameroon is set to play Chile in a two-legged playoff in early April but no announcement on those matches has been made.

SWIMMING

Most Olympic berths will be determined at national trials. The U.S. meet is scheduled for Omaha, Nebraska, on June 21-28; Australia’s is scheduled for June 14-19 in Adelaide; Japan’s national championship is in Tokyo on April 1-8. The final two events on the TYR Pro Swim Series, a big part of pre-Olympic training, are scheduled for April 16-19 in Mission Viejo, California, and May 6-9 in Indianapolis.

TABLE TENNIS

Qualifying is still in progress and scheduled to continue through May. But the International Table Tennis Federation suspended all activities until the end of April and recommended that continental associations follow that decision. An emergency meeting of the ITTF executive committee is scheduled for Monday.

TENNIS

The International Tennis Federation says Olympic eligibility still will be based on the WTA and ATP rankings of June 8, even though more than a month of the tours’ schedules in March and April have been scrapped. Requirements related to minimum participation in Fed Cup or Davis Cup remain in place — as does an appeal process for players who do not meet those standards.

WEIGHTLIFTING

Spots are decided by the world ranking. The continental championships next month were meant to be the last gold-level events offering extra qualifying points. However, the European, Asian and African championships have all been postponed along with another gold-level event, junior worlds.

WRESTLING

The U.S. trials that had been scheduled for April 4-5 in State College, Pennsylvania, have been postponed. The Pan American qualifier has been held. African/Oceania, European, Asian and World qualifiers have been postponed.

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