CANADA AND CHILE CLAIM CONTINENTAL OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION SLOTS
29 Jan 2016Sailing World Cup Miami acted as an Olympic qualifier for all ten of the Olympic classes for North and South America with 22 nations across both regions sending sailors with one aim, to book their spot at Rio 2016.
After the Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships and the 2015 Class World Championships, Sailing World Cup Miami was the last chance for sailors to qualify.
The following nations have qualified in the 470:
470 Men
North - Canada
South - Chile
470 Women
North - Canada
South - Chile
There is one remaining Continental Olympic Qualification Regatta remaining for the 2016 Olympic Games, which is for Europe where one nation place in each of the 470 Men and 470 Women will be awarded during Trofeo Princesa Sofia, Mallorca, Spain from 25 March-2 April 2016.
The Qualification System for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad Rio 2016 sets out the qualification system for each of the ten Olympic Sailing events. There are 26 quota places in the 470 Men and 20 in the 470 Women, and with so few places on offer compared to the number of nations sailing in the two 470 events, the places are fiercely contested. As host nation, Brazil is awarded an automatic place in each of the ten Olympic events.
To say "It's going to be tough", is simply an understatement. Years of campaigning are now coming down to the crunch. You may be amongst the best sailors in the world, but with so few places on offer at the Olympics, not all nations can be represented. Securing your nation's place at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is just one part of the multi-faceted campaign, next step is securing your place as your nation representative. Some teams have already been confirmed as their nation representatives, for many selection to Rio continues, as teams strive to meet their own national selection criteria.