Vienna, Austria, July 31, 2019 – The beach volleyball qualification process for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is at full pace but for Brazilian teams who aim to be at the Japanese capital next summer, there is still more to be done.
As the Brazilian Federation set a parallel system to determine which duos will represent the country at next year’s Olympics, a good result at this week’s A1 Major Vienna is imperative since the ten best finishes of each tandem in four and five-star events in the 12-month period between February 2019 and February 2020 are used in the country’s qualification rankings.
Rebecca Cavalcanti and Ana Patricia Ramos, who won one gold, one silver and three bronze medals since the Olympic qualification period began, have already compiled 5,300 points and have the lead among the women.
Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa secured 800 points with last week’s victory at the Tokyo Open, their second gold in the period, and have now 5,190 points.
“This period of the World Tour is a long one but things change quickly,” Agatha said heading to the Vienna Major. “We’re obviously very happy to have won the tournament in Tokyo but we cannot waste time and need to focus on the next event right away.”
Veterans Maria Elisa Antonelli and Carolina Salgado, who won the silver medal in Gstaad a few weeks ago, are currenlty third with 3,770 points but they have only eight finishes considered so far while their opponents have nine.
Barbara Seixas and Fernanda Alves, who had the country’s best result at the World Championships, with a fifth-place finish in Hamburg, are fourth with 3,370 points and eight results as well. Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima secured 2,930 points in seven tournaments.
Among the men, competition is tighter after the country saw several partnership changes over the last months. Evandro Gonçalves and Rio 2016 Olympic champion Bruno Schmidt have the lead with 5,120 points earned in ten events. They secured 800 of these points by winning the four-star event in Warsaw.
Evandro and Bruno have the lead among Brazilian men in the qualification process to the Tokyo 2020 Games
Bruno’s former partner and fellow Rio 2016 Olympic champion Alison Cerutti and his teammate Álvaro Filho, who topped the podium in Espinho two weeks ago, are second with 4,390 points but they have only nine results considered so far.
2017 world champion Andre Loyola and George Wanderley are a close third as the duo have compiled 4,000 points in eight finishes. Trailing the top three teams are Pedro Solberg and Vitor Felipe, with 2,800 points and eight results, and Guto Cavalhaes and Saymon Barbosa, with 2,300 points in six tournaments.
Women
Ana Patricia/Rebecca (9 events) – 5,300
Agatha/Duda (9) – 5,190
Maria Antonelli/Carol (8) – 3,770
Bárbara/Fernanda (8) – 3,370
Talita/Taiana (7) – 2,930
Men
Evandro/Bruno (10) – 5,120
Alison/Álvaro (9) – 4,390
André/George (8) - 4,000
Pedro Solberg/Vitor Felipe (8) – 2,800
Guto/Saymon (6) – 2,300