Switzerland joined Great Britain and Spain in qualifying for Rio 2016 next year while Ireland and Belgium met with disappointment, each failing to qualify a team.
Three additional countries qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil following their classification in yesterday’s team final of the European Championships in Aachen, Germany. The three best countries, that had not already qualified for the Games, were Switzerland, Great Britain and Spain.
Rio 2016 Olympic Games – Qualified nations
Brazil, as host nation, earns automatic team qualification for Rio 2016. Full details on qualified nations will be updated here. The following nations have so far qualified team spots for Rio 2016
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Canada
- France
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Ukraine
- USA
- Qatar
- Switzerland
- Spain
- Great Britain
The Netherlands, France, Germany and Sweden earned Olympic qualification last year following their results in the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, while the Ukraine won the Olympic qualifier in Samorin this month.
An Olympic Regional Trials event for the South East Asia and Oceania next week in Hagen, Germany will decide whether Australia sends a team to Rio next year. 29 riders from 12 nations of Group G, which includes Japan, China, Hong Kong and Australia will meet to select the riders and teams for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Disappointingly, both Ireland and Belgium have failed to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games. Riders from both countries will aim to qualify as Individuals only, but we will not see Teams from Belgium or from Ireland in next year’s Olympic Games. Qualification for the Games is according to World Rankings, top riders such as Cian O’Connor, Gregory Wathelet, Bertram Allen and Pieter Devos will need to focus their efforts on maintaining or strengthening their World position to ensure as spot for Rio de Janeiro next August.