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New updates are coming through by the minute... https://www.eurodressage.com/2021/06/04/olympic-slots-reshuffled-after-wave-withdrawals-riders-declining-go-tokyo So it was New Zealand who withdrew from dressage. They should be replaced by Malaysia (MER not confirmed), next in line is Singapore (MER not confirmed), then India (MER not confirmed), and then finally Hong Kong (MER confirmed). Not surprising to have so many incomplete MERs, as riders from these nations are not very active right now as they did not expect to have a shot at the Olympics. Norway is replaced by Italy as expected. New bit of news about Ireland claims that Anna Merveldt's horse may have picked up an injury... Damn. If they forfeit a team, they will no longer be allowed to send any individuals as well. Let's hope it will not come down to that!

He had a new horse few years ago, but never campaigned him to some championships. Otherwise, there is Alex Baker (25yo), who still needs one more MER score to be a possible contender for Tokyo.

Well, Anna Merveldt and Heike Holstein are still going strong, and improving since their debut season aboard new horses in 2019. James Connor and Dane Rawlins have obtained the requirements so I guess one of them will complete the team (Connor has slightly higher scores, while Rawlins has more international experience at his side).

At this point, they are dropping like flies. Another Irish Girl in Green who achieved the historic qualification - Kate Dwyer - is out as she announced pregnancy. Ireland will now have to scratch the bottom of the barrel. https://www.eurodressage.com/2021/06/04/kate-dwyer-withdraws-irish-olympic-team-contention Lyndal Oatley is out too for Australia. https://www.eurodressage.com/2021/06/04/lyndal-oatley-withdraws-australian-olympic-team-contention

Dumb move. There is clearly no COVID in Turkmenistan.

There are two USA listed in dressage by the way.

Going back to the excluded sports, Andrew Hoy just sneaks into the 70s. (Victory at Burghley in 1979, an absolute top level competition)

Ellen Birgitte Farbrot spent the spring chasing MER. She succeeded. But now she withdraws suddenly. https://www.eurodressage.com/2021/06/03/farbrot-gives-norways-individual-olympic-spot-tokyo Norway has nobody else, so this quota will get reallocated to Italy!

What the hell? Apparently a withdrawn eventing quota (of an unspecified origin) got reallocated to... Malaysia in dressage? Presumably the withdrawn eventing quota is really Pakistan from the Group F, but how on earth can that same quota end up going to the different discipline, and to the different Group (G)? Either Qabil Ambak has no clue what he is talking about, or FEI better get their lawyers on speed dial. https://www.eurodressage.com/2021/06/03/malaysia-and-qabil-ambak-receive-individual-olympic-slot-after-withdrawal-eventing-rider

Nice to see our lady listed for the snowboard slopestyle/big air. She better enjoy it while it lasts, because I am 99% sure it will not.

Because there are 5 mixed doubles-only starters among men, while every woman competing in the mixed doubles is already qualified for the singles or team.

Might as well post a couple of videos from the career-highlight event (Rotterdam Europeans) for this occasion... Historic team qualification for the Olympics Individual 5th place. But damn, not a great example of TV directing.

And now Jie out, Ho in.

Dodji Fanny for men's table tennis. https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Tokyo_2020_MS_2021_06_03.pdf Chelsea Edghill still not confirmed, apparently...

Ekholm out, Moret in. https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Tokyo_2020_WS_2021_06_03.pdf Tripartite for Fanny. https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Tokyo_2020_MS_2021_06_03.pdf

The end of an era. @OlympicIRL https://www.instagram.com/p/CPoekZTnDcs/?utm_medium=copy_link

Dressage - Only Germany appears to be safe. GB/DEN are closely followed by USA and the Netherlands. Sweden probably needs a couple of things to go their way, whilst Denmark has everything in their hands. Carina Cassoe Krueth is looking amazing right now, Nanna Skodborg Merrald is steady, but it may all come down to whether Cathrine Dufour can bounce back from the nightmare competition in Compiegne. As for the individual podium, the frontrunners are the three Germans, Dujardin (GB) and Dufour (DEN)... Followed by Gal (NED), Lyle (USA), Kittel and J. Ramel (SWE), Cassoe Krueth (DEN), Ruoste (FIN)... Eventing - Great Britain has the greatest depth of talent, no doubt about it, but it may count for very little in the three-person team competition with no discard scores. Neither gold nor 6th place would be surprising. AUS/NZ for me are looking better right now than GER/FRA. Germany will have a hard time without Ingrid Klimke, but they could still bounce back. United States would need to flip years of team disappointment. My heart goes out to Ireland, but they have been pretty invisible since this corona thing started and seem to be lacking horse power... Swedes are usually reliable. Watch out for Japan (4th at WEG). As for the individual portion, Michael Jung (GER), any of the Brits, Stuart Tinney and Chris Burton for Australia, Jonelle & Tim Price for New Zealand, Cathal Daniels (IRL), Phillip Dutton (USA), Felix Vogg (SUI), maybe one of the Frenchmen, or even Alex Hua Tian (CHN) in a crazy turn of events. Jumping - Probably the three strongest teams right now. Sweden, France, the Netherlands are always a threat though. Switzerland is still searching for someone to complete the amazing duo of Steve Guerdat and Martin Fuchs. Ireland, Great Britain, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt have their chances too. Individual event is not very predictable, but I am pretty sure at least two medalists will be found between Ben Maher (GBR), Steve Guerdat and Martin Fuchs (SUI), McLain Ward and Kent Farrington (USA), Christian Kukuk (GER), Peder Fredricson and Henrik von Eckermann (SWE), Pieter Devos and Niels Bruynseels (BEL), Harrie Smolders (NED).

S pozitivne strane, ovo omogućuje Mogiću nastup na 400 m i 1500 m. (Ako se ima OQT u jednoj disciplini, i sam OST postaje dovoljan za nastup u drugima).

FINA released a provisional list of universality swimmers. https://www.fina.org/competitions/tokyo-2020-swimming-info I guess exporting a table from .xls to a simple .pdf must be pretty difficult...

What are the chances for ?

Yap, Slovakia is apparently jinxed for the day.

Probably Puerto Rico and Malaysia.

Right. Russia has so many W + X quotas that they will almost surely be forced to either enter some mixed team-only athletes or to give up spots entirely. Women's rifle - 4 Women's pistol - 3 Women's shotgun - 5 I mean, sure, they can exchange the shotgun for pistol, but then Batsarashkina for example would be forced to start in only one individual event...

Oh, wait. Slovakia can actually enter two mixed teams for trap already. So, should Kovacocy qualify today, they would be able to enter three male trap shooters and still have one of Varga/Kovacocy allowed to start in both events. But then one of the Slovaks would be going to Tokyo solely for the team event. Not sure if their federation would find that worthwhile.

That mixed team quota is cashing in hard for Slovakia right now. They may end up with a possible exchange + someone like Jana Spotakova going to the Olympics of all people.