Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

SO WHERE ARE WE WITH OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION?

With its decision taken on 28 September, European Gymnastics decided to hold the 2020 European Championships in Kyiv, Ukraine, but scrapped it's Olympic qualifier status, which makes sense, given possible delegation travel difficulties and health concerns.

❓ WHAT'S NEXT?

European Gymnastics notifies FIG and asks the international federation to inform the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the European Championships (RG/AG, though there is no decision on the holding of the AG Euros yet) cannot serve as Olympic qualifier.

The IOC and FIG need to do the paperwork and we will see whether there will be yet another change in the qualification documents. The current public version is dated 29 May 2020.

❓ HOW DO WE STAND WITH QUALIFYING? 🌎

INDIVIDUALS
17/26 places are taken. 2 quotas for Russia, Israel, Bulgaria, Belarus, Italy, Ukraine, USA, 1 for Azerbaijan, Japan and Habiba Marzouk (Egypt - the only nominative quota won at a continental qualifier in 2020).

The fact that Japan won an Olympic spot means that the host spot is not needed and will be reallocated at the end of the qualification (as things stands right now, it goes to Ekaterina Vedeneeva of Slovenia).

GROUPS
9/14 places are taken. Russia, Italy, Bulgaria, Japan, Belarus, Israel, China, Azerbaijan and Egypt. Egypt is the only group that won their quota at a continental qualifier.

For the time being Ukraine has the falldown host spot (Japan already has a quota), but this place will be reallocated at the end of the qualification.

PLACES LEFT
➡️ INDIVIDUAL (9)
3 for World Cup Series
1 for Europe
1 for Asia
1 for Oceania
1 for Americas
1 falldown quota (host spot not needed)
1 Tripartite invitation (goes to a minor nation's gymnast)

➡️ GROUP (5)
1 for Europe
1 for Asia
1 for Oceania
1 for Americas
1 falldown quota (host spot not needed)

❓ WHAT'S COMING THEN?
• FIG postponed the 2020 World Cup Series to 2021, so it shall serve as qualification. 4 competitions (Sofia, Tashkent, Baku, Pesaro), gymnasts gain points, the top 3 of the rankings (without qualification yet) go to Tokyo based on the 3 best results. No country that has 2 spots can qualify, but countries that qualified 1 gymnast can qualify another. The four World Cups are scheduled for April-May 2021.

• From the continental championships only the African went through. The Europeans for 2020 are scheduled but will not serve as an Olympic qualifier. The revised Olympic qualification rules state that continental championships for continental qualifying shall be held "by latest 29 June 2021" At the continental championships no country that qualified a gymnast through the 2019 World Championships or the 2020 World Cup Series (postponed to 2021) can get a quota.

• This needs to be cleared by all authorities, but it is very likely that the Asian, European, Oceanian and Pan-American Continental Championships being held in 2021 shall serve as qualifiers. We will know this when revised documents are posted.

❓ WHAT HAPPENS IF NO EVENT (WORLD CUP SERIES, CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIPS) CAN BE HELD IN 2021?

That means there will be a re-distribution based on the 2019 World Championships results. That'd mean (in case of the complete nullification of the World Cups and Continental Championships as qualifiers), as I calculate (I might be wrong, the rules are complicated):

➡️ Individual: Ekaterina Vedeneeva, Salome Pazhava, Ekaterina Fetisova, Fanni Pigniczki, Polina Berezina, Kseniya Moustafaeva, Denisa Mailat and Kim Chaewoon qualify for the Olympic Games in order of their individual AA placing at the 2019 Worlds. Chisaki Oiwa, as I understand the rules, cannot get another spot for Japan if there is a quota re-allocation. The Tripartite place is sent out by invitation and shall not be affected by the qualifying process.

➡️ Group: Ukraine, USA, Mexico, Finland and Brazil get the spots.

It occurs to me that there is no continental re-allocation. Quoting: "Should the Continental Championships not take place or not be held by latest 29 June 2021, the quota place(s) of the respective continent is(are) lost."

So for example if the Asian Championships cannot be held, the place does not automatically go to the next eligible Asian gymnast but the next eligible gymnast (without continental place taken into account). This means that Oceania [group and individual] and Uzbekistan [group] draw the short straw during the re-allocation.

Side note: but if everything is cancelled in the first half of 2021, I cannot really see the Olympics happening either, so hopefully the situation does not deteriorate to this.

Side note 2: the qualification document can be revised due to the unforeseen circumstances. This means "moving goalposts" for coaches and gymnasts and massive problems with calculation of form and preparation. But this is 2020 for us...

IOC's Bach says Tokyo Olympics will be held, "no plan B"

Thursday that the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead this summer, saying there is "no plan B" even as doubts grow amid a sharp resurgence of coronavirus cases in the Japanese capital and elsewhere.

"We have at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on the 23rd of July in the Olympic stadium in Tokyo," Bach said in an online interview with Kyodo News two days ahead of marking six months until the rescheduled event begins.

"This is why there is no plan B and this is why we are fully committed to make these games safe and successful," he said.

But he hinted at the possibility of reducing the number of spectators, saying the IOC has to be "flexible" to protect the lives of the people involved.

"You may not like it but sacrifices will be needed. This is why I'm saying, safety first, and no taboo in the discussion to ensure safety," the IOC president said.

Japan has been preparing to hold the Summer Games with spectators -- even exempting from quarantine fans coming from countries with infections under control. The hosts, however, have said they will make a final decision by the end of spring whether to welcome spectators.

The Olympics and Paralympics, which were originally scheduled for 2020, were pushed back in March that year after athletes expressed fears over the novel coronavirus, and a number of qualifying events had to be canceled.

While the virus continues to spread across the globe, Bach said the world is now better equipped to prevent infections, brushing aside speculation that the fate of the games may be known in the next two months or so.

"First of all, let me be clear that you cannot compare March 2021 with March 2020 because there is such great progress in science, medicine, vaccination and (virus) tests," he said. "All this was not available in March last year. Nobody knew yet how really to deal with the pandemic, and now we know much more."

Bach said he believes coronavirus vaccines will become available by April or May in many countries. The 67-year-old also said March and April are two important months in terms of deciding how the games will be staged but drawing specific measures against the virus can wait until June.

Reiterating his trust in Japan's anti-virus steps, Bach said he would be "happy" if possible to again visit the country in May, when the nationwide Olympic torch relay will go through the city of Hiroshima, which suffered the devastation of the world's first atomic bombing.

Beyond the Tokyo Games, he said the Beijing Winter Olympics will go ahead in 2022 as planned.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has insisted that the international mega sporting event will be held as scheduled as "proof that humanity defeated the coronavirus."

Still, Japan and the IOC, as well as athletes, face mounting challenges ahead and many questions remain unanswered.

Japan and many other countries have been facing a surge in infections, reporting more daily cases compared with 10 months ago when the games were postponed for one year, and increasing threats of new and more potentially contagious coronavirus variants.

Tokyo has logged more than 1,000 cases of daily infections in recent days, and some other areas of the country are now under a monthlong state of emergency, during which residents are requested to stay at home as much as possible and restaurants asked to close earlier.

The virus has also cast a shadow over the games' qualification process. Only 57 percent of the Olympic spots had been secured as of March last year when the games were pushed back and many athletes still struggle to train to keep their Olympic hopes alive.

Moreover, as the Olympics approach, Japan has failed to win strong public support for the games as infection cases continue to rise.

An opinion poll by Kyodo News earlier this month found that 80 percent of respondents want a cancellation or postponement of the games. Only 14 percent supported hosting them as scheduled, less than half of the percentage in the previous survey in December.

"From a human point of view, I have some understanding," Bach said, given that countless people have been in hard times. "It is difficult to imagine what will happen in six months."

"But at the time of the games, the situation will be different, and the measures being taken will be different," he said. "I am sure that with the improvement of the situation, also these people will think differently."

The following is the gist of remarks made by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in an online interview with Kyodo News on Thursday.

Bach said:

-- Tokyo Olympics to go ahead this summer and there is "no plan B."

-- Ensuring safety is top priority.

-- There is "no taboo" in efforts to protect health of people involved, suggesting number of spectators may be reduced.

-- Current situation is different from March 2020, when postponement of Summer Games was decided, as world has more know-how in dealing with coronavirus pandemic.

-- March and April to be "very much important" over what to do with spectators but many specifics can still be worked out later.

-- He is confident in Japan's ability to formulate anti-virus steps.

-- Coronavirus vaccines will contribute to safety of Olympics.

-- Low public support in Japan understandable, but that will rise as virus situation improves.

-- Beijing Winter Olympics to go ahead as planned in 2022.

-- He would be "happy" to again visit Japan in May if possible.

Marcia Lopes secures place in Tokyo2020
Cape Verde managed to guarantee, today, the presence of rhythmic gymnastics athlete Márcia Lopes in the Olympic Games in Tokyo2020, by Wild Card (invitation) of the International Olympic Committee. Márcia Lopes is the first Cape Verdean athlete to guarantee a place in Tokyo.

Lopes is one of the most highly regarded African gymnasts as shown by the International Gymnastics Federation, and with this invitation she will represent Cape Verde and the African continent in the sport.

In an atypical time of pandemic, Cape Verde has suffered a lot with the postponement of qualifying competitions and changes in the qualification rules, and it is only now beginning to guarantee places in the biggest sporting and cultural event in the world.

The Olympic Committee, as organizer of Cape Verde's Mission to the Olympic Games, has been working on preparing all of the delegation's logistics, so that the country is represented in the best possible way in this world-scale event.

We would still like to congratulate the Cape Verdean Gymnastics Federation for the achievement it has achieved.