With the Olympic Games set to kick off at the end of July, preparations for the Games are beginning in all sports, not just in swimming. In this series, SwimSwam looks at some of the leading news from outside of swimming as athletes around the world continue to prepare and qualify for the rescheduled Olympic Games which are due to begin in Tokyo on July 23rd, and Paralympic Games, which are scheduled to begin August 24th.
U.S. Gymnastics Holds Trials in St. Louis
With just a month to go until the Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Olympic hopefuls from the United States are converging on St. Louis, Missouri this weekend with the goal of being able to represent the country in Tokyo.
Unlike swimming, which has a clear-cut system for qualifying for the Olympic team, gymnastics uses a more complex system for choosing it’s roster. For the women, the top-two all-around performers will be immediately be selected for the team, while the other two spots will be chosen by Tom Forster, who serves as the high-performance team coordinator. For the men, the second-place finisher in the all-around competition will only qualify for the team if he also has three podium finishes in other events. After that, the team’s roster will be decided by a committee created by USA Gymnastics.
For the 2020 Games, the International Gymnastics Federation attempted to create greater opportunities for countries to send teams by reducing each nation’s roster size from five to four. While they have already announced that the 2024 Games will return to the traditional five-athlete roster, this year’s competition will feature the reduced number. Each country will also be able to bring athletes who will only compete individually.
The United States Announces Women’s Soccer Roster For Tokyo
Earlier the week the US announced the roster of women that would be representing the United States on the soccer pitch in Tokyo, with Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe headlining the 18 athletes. Between the 18 women selected to represent the US, they combine for a total of 26 World Cup medals and 8 Olympic gold medals.
Leading the United States is Carli Lloyd, who has been a part of two World Cup winning teams as well as the team that won gold at the Olympics in 2012. She is joined by seven other women who were a part of that team that competed in London.
While the US women have had a history of success at the Olympic stage, winning four gold medals across five Olympics between 1996 and 2012, in 2016 they failed to make it past the quarterfinals in Rio. The US squad fell to Sweden in penalty kicks during that tournament, with Sweden going on to take the silver medal behind Germany.
Full Roster Selections
- Adrianna Franch
- Alyssa Naeher
- Abby Dahglkemper
- Tierna Davidson
- Crystal Dunn
- Kelley O’Hara
- Becky Sauerbrunn
- Emily Sonnett
- Julie Ertz
- Lindsey Horan
- Rose Lavelle
- Kristie Mewis
- Sam Mewis
- Tobin Heath
- Carli Lloyd
- Alex Morgan
- Megan Rapinoe
- Christen Press
Andy Murray to Compete in Both Singles and Doubles at Games for Great Britain
After winning gold in singles at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, Andy Murray has been tagged to return to the Olympics in both singles and doubles competitions. In 2016, he defeated both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on his path to the gold medal. In doubles, he will partner with Joe Salisbury, who has specialized in the event during his career.
At 34-years old, Murray did not initially qualify to compete in Tokyo after his world ranking dipped to 119 following hip and groin injuries that hindered his ability to compete. In tennis, one male and female athlete who fail to qualify for the competition due to their world ranking is selected based on past Olympic and Grand Slam titles.
Headline: “Andy Murray to Compete in Both Singles and Doubles at Games for England”
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