USA, Italy, Russia and Spain all secured a spot for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, following the FINA Women’s Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament, which was held in Gouda (NED) from March 21-28.
On Saturday March 26, the four teams won their respective quarter final matches, assuring a place in the Olympic Tournament next summer in the South American host city.
Water Polo powerhouse USA ended up topping the tournament by winning gold on Monday, beating their strong rival Italy 11-6. Russia defeated the Spanish squad 10-4 to grab the bronze medal.
The host nation of the eight-day competition beat Greece 9-7 and positioned itself fifth. In the game for the seventh and eight rank, Canada, who played France, proved stronger and scored 11-6. Japan (9th), Germany (10th), New Zealand (11th) and South Africa (12th) completed the 12-team tournament ranking.
See all matches results here
The final ranking of the FINA Women’s Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament is as follows:
1. United States
2. Italy
3. Russia
4. Spain
5. Netherlands
6. Greece
7. Canada
8. France
9. Japan
10. Germany
11. New Zealand
12. South Africa
The other three women’s teams which have secured a spot for the Olympic Games due to their results at Continental Championships or Tournaments were: Australia, China and Hungary. Brazil, as Olympic Games host, will represent the Americas.
The FINA Men’s Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament is set to take place in Trieste (ITA) fromApril 3-10.
Swimming news courtesy of FINA.
