Argentine Athletes Qualify for Paris 2024 Olympics: Which Teams Have Secured Their Spots and Who is Still in the Running

The Argentine sports qualifiers for Paris 2024

The victory of the Under 23 National Team against Brazil on the last date of the Pre-Olympic that was held in Venezuela qualified Javier Mascherano’s team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and added new places for the delegation’s participation in the largest multidisciplinary sporting event in the world.

The first thing to say is that Argentina already has more than 90 athletes in 12 sports for the event that will officially begin next Friday, July 26 in the capital of France. With the recent ticket that the men’s soccer team got, there are 18 new places taking into account the number of players that the Jefecito will be able to take to the competition.

If we summarize, the blue and white sport already has safe participation in: football, sports shooting, speed canoeing, swimming, modern pentathlon, tennis, horse riding, field hockey, handball, sailing, cycling and rugby seven.

If we draw a parallel with what happened three years ago at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which were held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, there were 177 Argentine athletes who traveled to Japan. Of those, 112 were part of a team sports combination, a tradition for Argentina throughout its rich history and the success of different teams.

What’s more, the only three medals (one silver and two bronze) for Argentina on Japanese soil came thanks to the great performance of three teams. The Lionesses, a guarantee in the Olympic Games, climbed to second place on the podium after losing the women’s hockey final against the Netherlands. The other two who celebrated did so in the match for third place: The Pumas 7 made history with their victory against Great Britain (17-12) to win the first national medal in Tokyo. The other victory was epic: the men’s volleyball team, led by Facundo Conte and Luciano De Cecco, beat Brazil 3-2 in an unforgettable battle for those led by Marcelo Méndez.

The Gladiators won gold at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games (CAH)

The Argentine qualifiers for Paris 2024

Before the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023, which allowed Argentina to add a dozen Olympic tickets, several athletes secured their place. One of the cases to highlight was that of the swimmer Macarena Ceballos. The Cordovan, originally from Río Cuarto, secured her first participation in the Olympic Games after achieving the A mark in the 100 meters breaststroke discipline at the Fukuoka World Cup, in Japan, last year.

Another outstanding athlete currently in Argentine sports is Agustín Vernice. The native of Olavarría earned the right to be in Paris 2024 (his second Games) after a distribution of quotas from the international federation after being a finalist in the World Speed ​​Canoeing Championship. After his Pan American gold medal in the K1 1000, and his streak of three participations in world finals for which he achieved in Tokyo, the paddler will be an athlete to follow in the Argentine excursion in Paris.

In individual sports, sailing is a sport that always adds Olympic places. This was the case of the duo made up of Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco in the Nacra 17 class – the same one that in Rio 2016 saw Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza celebrating with gold in Guanabara Bay -, who classified in the World Cup in The Hague 2023. In addition to them, Lucía Falasca (Laser), Catalina Turienzo (Formula Kite) have already earned their place; Francisco Saubidet Birkner and Chiara Ferreti (Windsurf); and Francisco Guaragna (ILCA 7).

In the cases of sports shooting, such as the pentathlon, the three tickets were obtained in the Pan American Games in Santiago, in Chile. The first to achieve this was Fernanda Russo, who won the silver medal in the 10-meter air rifle event. This will be her third participation in the Senior Olympic Games, if we count her presence in the 2014 edition at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing. The other place in the sport of weapons is in the hands of Federico Gil, who rose to third place on the Pan American podium in skeet. On the side of the discipline that combines fencing, swimming, laser run and horse riding (the test will be modified at the end of the year without the competition with horses), the one who got a ticket in the Chilean capital was Franco Serrano, medalist in Buenos Aires 2018, thanks to his 5th place in the Pan-American individual test.

Agustín Vernice will compete in his second Olympic Games after being a finalist in Tokyo 2020 (REUTERS/Yara Nardi)

In horse riding, José María Larocca won the individual jumping spot in Santiago 2023 and Argentina added one more place by ranking of the international federation (FEI) for the complete event. For their part, Facundo Díaz Acosta’s gold and Lourdes Carlé’s silver in Santiago 2023 tennis gave them the ticket to Paris. How should they ensure check-in? Simple: they must remain above position 400 in the professional circuit ranking. Cycling also has, for now, a place: Nicolás Tavani won it on the road in April of last year after being Pan American runner-up in the specialty.

Beyond the individual places, which can still grow in sports such as athletics, BMX racing, BMX freestyle with the help of Maligno Torres (gold in the Pan American Games and who last year won the XGames, the famous event in the USA), what the same as by distribution of places according to the marks in swimming or different pre-Olympic or continental events of contact sports (boxing, judo, taekwondo), surfing, fencing, table tennis or what has to do with artistic gymnastics (places per devices by gender on the World Cup circuit), team sports have already added a good number of places.

At the Pan American Games, Las Leonas and Los Leones, both hockey teams, won the gold medal and the ticket to Paris. In this way, Argentine sports added 32 places (16 per team), something similar to what happened with the incredible victory of Los Gladiadores, the men’s handball team, which added 14 members after beating Brazil in a final that took place. He played in Viña del Mar. Their captain and figure, Diego Simonet, will wait for them in France – he plays for Montpellier – to seek to make a breakthrough in Olympic handball.

Finally, there is the sensational team of the moment on the rugby sevens circuit. The Pumas 7, who have just won the stages in Cape Town and Perth after beating Australia, achieved Olympic qualification at the end of last season after finishing in second place in the World Rugby rankings behind New Zealand. With an amazing present thanks to the leadership of his coach Santiago Gómez Cora, added to the figure of a player like Marcos Moneta, considered the best sprinter in the world in the discipline, in addition to the value of Rodrigo Isgró – chosen as the most highlighted in 2023, the UAR team has everything to get excited about a new Olympic podium in a city that loves rugby.

What will happen to the men’s volleyball team? As Conte and company’s team did not manage to get a ticket in one of the pre-Olympics that were played in the last quarter of last year, they will now have to ensure their classification by ranking. Currently, Argentina is in sixth place in the FIVB world rankings and only has Italy above the teams that are not yet in Paris 2024. To finish sealing the passage, it will play the initial phase of the Volleyball Nations League, where you must add points to avoid risk.

Beyond the men’s volleyball team (Las Panteras no longer have a chance), there are two women’s teams that can achieve a place, although it will be a complex task.

In the case of rugby 7, Las Yaguaretés will seek to qualify for the first time in the women’s Olympic Repechage that will be held a month before the start of the Games (from June 21 to 23) in Monaco. Only the champion will get a ticket to Paris 2024.

A similar scenario will face La Garra, which will participate in the world qualifier to be played in Torrevieja, Spain, from April 11 to 14. In this competition they will play against the local teams, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, and the two best in the phase will earn a ticket.

In the case of basketball, 24 years after the last absence (Sydney 2000), Pablo Prigioni’s team will not be in the capital of France, since it was left without even being able to play the FIBA ​​world pre-Olympics after failing in the vetanas playoffs.

The countdown is on. With less than six months left until the great sporting event in the world, the Argentine athletes who already have their place secured are focusing on arriving in the best conditions. The rest, who represent a good number, keep the dream alive of reaching the appointment that will change their lives forever. Whether or not they have had the honor of representing their country. Because the Olympic spirit is renewed every four years.

2024-02-13 04:29:00
#Argentine #athletes #classified #Olympic #Games #triumph #mens #soccer #number #places #road #Paris