The dress rehearsal for Gymnastics at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio will take place April 16-22 in the Olympic venue. With 30 days to go before the start of the Test Event, the list of gymnasts expected for this second and final qualification round for August's Summer Olympic Games has been unveiled.
A select number of gymnasts from nations that have already qualified to Rio will take advantage of invitations to compete at the Test Event in order to test out the equipment and ambiance in the Olympic arena in Barra, including 2012 Olympic Still Rings champion Arthur Zanetti (BRA) and World Balance Beam silver medallist Sanne Wevers (NED); Yana Kudryavtseva and Margarita Mamun, the two Russians who have dominated the quadrennium in Rhythmic Gymnastics; and also Gao Lei and Li Dan (CHN), the reigning World titleholders in Trampoline.
But for the most part, the Aquece Rio Test Event represents the last chance for gymnasts to realise their Olympic dreams come August. In each of the three Olympic disciplines of Gymnastics, the last tickets for the Games are up for grabs. This second qualification round is not open to all, but only to a select number of nations and gymnasts based on their rankings from the 2015 World Championships.
At the request of the organisers, the competition dates were changed last month in order to reduce the length of the event. Artistic Gymnastics will therefore be held April 16-18, Trampoline on April 19 and Rhythmic Gymnastics April 21-22.
Artistic Gymnastics - April 16-18 (click here for the entry list)
In the absence of Larisa Iordache, who is recovering from a finger injury, the Romanians are counting on five-time Olympic medallist Catalina Ponor as they attempt to turn the page after a disastrous performance at the Glasgow Worlds in October. Romania, which has had a place on every Olympic podium since 1976, shocked the Gymnastics world by not qualifying its team directly to the Games at the World Championships. Now, they face competition from Brazil and young hope Flavia Saraiva, Germany, with World beam bronze medallist Pauline Schaefer, France, Belgium, Australia, South Korea and European champion Giulia Steingruber's Switzerland for one of the four team berths still available.
On the men's side, Germany will lean on its two stars, 2012 Olympic silver medallist Marcel Nguyen and London High Bar silver medallist Fabian Hambuechen, as it aims to return to Rio in August. London High Bar champion Epke Zonderland leads a hungry Dutch men's team, while the Ukrainian men, behind rising star Oleg Verniaiev, will also mount a serious challenge.
Romania, led by its ageless Floor and Vault king Marian Dragulescu, France, Spain and Canada will also battle with Belgium, which enters the competition after the withdrawal of the Belarussian team. In lieu of a full team, Belarus has opted to send two athletes who hope to qualify as individuals.
Gymnasts whose teams do not advance to Rio can still qualify as individuals. That's how Oksana Chusovitina (UZB), at 40, will also be trying to qualify for her seventh Olympic Games, which would be an all-time record for longevity in Gymnastics. Chusovitina competed in her first Olympics in Barcelona in 1992 and has not missed a Games since.
Thirty five or 36 individual places are still to be doled out in Women's Gymnastics, while between 29 and 32 places are in play in Men's. The final number of places depends on what happens in the team competition: Medallists from the 2015 World Championships are guaranteed a place at the Games, but only if their teams do not qualify. If a World medallist's team qualifies for the Olympics at the Test Event, the medallist's place will be reattributed.
Trampoline - April 19 (click here for the entry list)
Thirteen men and 13 women whose countries have not yet qualified for the Games will attempt to earn the last Olympic berths up in the air in Trampoline at the Test Event.
2008 OIympic silver medallist Jason Burnett (CAN) as well as gymnasts from Australia, Colombia, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, Ukraine and the USA will aim to win Olympic places in the Men's competition.
Competitors from France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine, the USA and Uzbekistan -- one of whose entrants, Ekaterina Khilko, has competed at every Olympic Games since 2000 -- will contend for Olympic places in the Women's competition.
Regardless of the outcome, Brazil's Rafael Andrade will be accorded one of the eight places left in the Men's Trampoline competition in Rio, as the host country has the right to enter one male or one female gymnast in the discipline.
Rhythmic Gymnastics - April 21-22 (click here for the entry list)
Twenty three individual gymnasts and seven Groups are part of the final race for Olympic berths. One thing is sure: no matter what the results, Brazil is guaranteed a place in both individual and Group competition. Also, as there rests in theory only nine places in individual Rhythmic gymnasts and four for Groups, the safest place to finish is in front of the Brazilians in order to be sure to be able to come back in August for the Games.
Among the individuals, Armenia, Austria, Germany, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Romania, Slovenia and Uzbekistan all have a chance to qualify.
In Group competition, the battle will be between Uzbekistan, Germany, Azerbaijan, Greece, Finland and South Korea, the latter having benefitted from the withdrawal of the French team late last year.
For more information, contact:
FIG Media & Communications Department
mediafig@fig-gymnastics.org
+41 21 321 55 10
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