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The South American qualifier for Women's Football, the 2022 Copa América Femenina, has seen the conclusion of the group stage. The ten countries in the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) were split into two groups for a competition based in Colombia in which the winner will have the right to call themselves the South American champion, in addition to the two Olympic quota spots, three Pan American Games spots (the teams coming in third, fourth, and fifth make that competition) and three spots in the FIFA Women's World Cup (as well as two play-off spots). The top two teams in each group would go to semi-finals, with third in each group going to a fifth-placed play-off. Chile, having already qualified for the Pan American Games as host, were not considered in qualifying for that competition. In Group A, with most games held at the Estadio Olimpico Pascual Guerrero in Cali, on the opening day a double-header kicked off with Bolivia facing Ecuador. A corner from Ecuador was not fully dealt with and Nayely Bolaños was there to score the tournament's opener. Danna Pesántez made it two for La Tricolor after having an open goal due to a smart cutback. Marthina Aguierre was next to benefit from a cutback and made it three before half time. Things got worse for Bolivia when Kimberly López was sent off for denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity, but La Verde did have at least one positive when Érika Salvatierra headed home a rebound after a free-kick was pushed on to the woodwork. But that was only a brief respite for the Bolivians, as Giannina Lattanzio put in an open goal before a corner was converted acrobatically by Joselyn Espinales and a ball over the top gave Bolaños her second goal in injury time to wrap up a 6-1 win. Colombia kicked off their campaign against Paraguay, and the hosts found the lead through a rebound from Daniela Montoya. But Paraguay fought back, with an amazing free kick from at least thirty metres out by Jessica Martínez finding the net. Colombia regained their lead before the break after Mayra Ramírez headed home a cross, before Montoya got her third after taking advantage of a goalkeeping fumble. Another header from a cross, this time Manuela Vanegas confirmed the victory for Las Chicas Superpoderosas but Paraguay did get a consolatory goal from another amazing free kick, this time from Fany Gauto, to complete a 4-2 loss. The next matchday was another double-header, with Paraguay looking to get back to winning ways against Chile. And they got off to a perfect start, with Rebeca Fernández reacting to a looping ball over the top quickest, before Martínez took advantage of suspect goalkeeping to double Paraguay's lead. But Chile fought back when Daniela Pardo headed home a free kick crossed into the box before half-time. In the second half Paraguay regained their two-goal cushion through a Fabiola Sandoval strike from outside the box, and though Yenny Acuña fired home in injury time, there was not enough time for an equaliser and the game finished a 3-2 win for Paraguay. The second game of the day saw Bolivia take on Colombia. The hosts were hitting their stride as Leicy Santos fired a long shot in and although they missed a penalty, Colombia had no problems wrapping up the game, as Ericka Morales poked it past her own goalie and Daniela Arias headed in a corner to get a 3-0 win. Day three and another double header in Cali, starting with Paraguay's match against Bolivia. Paraguay extended their winning run thanks to a 2-0 victory, with a tap-in by Ramona Martínez and a similar goal by Rebeca Fernández earning the three points. In the second game, Chile took on Ecuador, and Chile took the lead just before half time when Camila Sáez got the last touch from a corner. In the second half, the lead was doubled when Acuña put home a cross, and although Ecuador quickly got one back thanks to a smart finish by Aguirre, they couldn't find an equaliser and Chile took a 2-1 win. The fourth and final double-header started with Chile facing Bolivia, and La Roja Femenina were in no mood to hang about against the group's whipping girls. Three early goals: a smart strike from Francisca Lara, an own goal from a corner from Salvatierra and a well hit effort from Paloma López. Lara nodded in her second in injury time, and in the second half there was still one more goal to be scored as Mary Valencia headed home number five. In the other game, Ecuador took on Colombia. The hosts took the lead when Ramírez pounced on a through ball but they were soon pegged back by Nicole Charcopa after losing possession in their own final third. But it would be Colombia who would win the game through Linda Caicedo's goal as she took advantage on a lovely back-heeled assist on the stroke of half time and the second period would be goalless. On the final day, Ecuador took on Paraguay in Cali and Colombia faced Chile at the Estadio Centenario in Armenia. When play started, Colombia led the group on nine points, both Paraguay and Chile had six (with Paraguay ahead on head-to-head) and Ecuador had three, with Bolivia out on zero points. The hosts were in no mood to be charitable, with María Catalina Usme putting them ahead early on from about fifteen metres out, before Arias dinked in number two after a goalkeeping fumble. Chile's defenders were unable to cope and that was made clear by the third goal, a through-ball splitting the back line to find Manuela Vanegas who provided the finish. There was still time for one more goal before the break with Liana Salazar heading home a freekick to confirm top spot and a 4-0 win. In the other game, Jessica Martínez gave Paraguay the lead from a header before Kerlly Real smashed home an equaliser after a goalmouth scramble. With the game at 1-1, Lice Chamorro's injury time header gave Paraguay a win and sent them through to the semifinals. In the end, Colombia won Group A and will play the second-placed team in Group B in the semifinals, while Paraguay came second and will face the winners of Group B. Chile, in third, will play the third-placed team in group B in the fifth-placed play-off, while Ecuador and Bolivia headed out. Group B was mostly played in Armenia, with a double-header on the first day kicking off with Uruguay taking on Venezuela. It was Venezuela that took a 1-0 win thanks to Deyna Castellanos' free kick that went in off the bar. In the later game, Brazil took on Argentina and found life relatively easy. First, Adriana had a tap-in, before Ruth Bravo lazily brought down Tainara in the box and Bia Zaneratto put home the penalty. In the second half, Adriana rounded the goalie to get her second before Debhina did the same to wrap up a 4-0 win for Brazil. On the second day, Uruguay took on Brazil in the first game and it was Brazil that got the lead through a familiar source, Adriana tapping in at the far post after a low cross eluded everyone. The Seleção added to their advantage when Debinha was slipped through in injury time before getting another soon into the second half as Adriana again converted at the far post for a 3-0 win. In the other game, Argentina played Peru, and La Albiceleste soon put the Brazil defeat behind them as Yamila Rodríguez opened the scoring from a tap-in, while in the second half the floodgates opened. A cross converted by Flor Bonsegundo, a daisycutter from Eliana Stabile and a goal in-off the post from Érica Lonigro gave Argentina a 4-0 win. On day three the first game was between Argentina and Uruguay, and Argentina had found their rhythm. It took them until the stroke of half time to get ahead when Estefanía Banini trapped a long ball over the top and found the net. In the second half it was the Rodríguez show, as she scored the second from close range before latching onto a through ball to score number three and then finishing her hat-trick from another through-ball: Uruguay were clearly ill-equipped to deal with this tactic. Another close-range effort, this time from Stabile in injury time, wrapped up a 5-0 win for Argentina. In the late game it was Peru against Venezuela and it was Castellanos that got the opening goal again for La Vinotinto, pouncing on a sloppy back pass. Oriana Altuve's rebound into an empty net wrapped up a 2-0 win for the Venezuelans. Day four saw the two top sides in the group so far, Venezuela and Brazil, face off. Zaneratto gave Brazil an early lead and they never looked back, with goals in the second half coming from a smart Ary Borges strike, a Debinha header, and a powerful finish also by Debinha. In the second game, Peru took on Uruguay. In a game that saw no goals in the first half, Uruguay found their feet in the second period: firstly, Pamela González headed home a corner before Belen Aquino tucked home a crossed free-kick. A header from Esperanza Pizarro was next, and then came a driven effort from Ximena Velasco. There was still time for two more goals: González finding her second of the night with a low finish and Pizarro doing the same from a corner to earn a 6-0 win. On the final day, Brazil took on Peru in Cali while Venezuela faced Argentina in Armenia. Brazil were on nine points, Venezuela and Argentina on six (with Argentina ahead on goal difference), Uruguay on three and Peru also out on zero. Brazil took mere seconds to find the lead with Duda putting the finishing touch on an elegant move. Maria Sampaio doubled the lead in a crowded box, before Geyse smashed home number three. Before the break there was still time for another goal when Gretta Martínez brought down Duda Santos in the box, and the Palmeiras midfielder got up and placed the penalty smartly for a 4-0 half-time lead. In the second half, Fernanda head home a corner before the second spot-kick of the game as Liliana Vanegas bought down Sampaio in the box and substitute Adriana scored to earn her fifth goal of the tournament and a 6-0 win that confirmed Brazil would get top spot. But who would join them? This set up a crunch encounter: if Venezuela beat Argentina they would reach the semifinals, if not it would be Argentina. And perhaps nerves showed in a tetchy game decided by one goal, a cutback that Bonsegundo converted. This means that Brazil got top spot and will face Paraguay in the second semifinal, not before Colombia take on runners-up Argentina. In the fifth-placed play-off Chile take on Venezuela, while Uruguay came fourth in the group and Peru fifth. The third- and fifth-placed play-offs will take place in Armenia, while the semifinals and final will be in Estadio Alfonso López in Bucaramanga. The two finalists will make the Olympics and the World Cup, with the third-placed team also making the World Cup. The fourth-placed team and fifth-placed team will make the World Cup play-offs. The losing semi-finalists will join Chile and Peru in the Pan American Games. Patrick Green Writer, Totallympics News

The pathway to Paris 2024 qualification is nearly known completely with only Athletics and the BMX Freestyle discipline of Cycling yet to release its procedures. But although the documents have been released, a lot of the particulars remain ambiguous, such as the precise event quotas will be earned. This is true especially for continental qualifications, often listed as TBC. Breaking Breaking, a new sport at Paris 2024 was one such sport. There are 16 places per gender (including one host and two universality spots). The thirteen qualification spots go to the winner of the 2023 World Championship, the winner of five previously unknown continental champions, and seven from an "Olympic Qualifier Series" (OQS), details of which remain scarce. However, the events for Asia, Europe and the Americas have now been announced. The winners of the Breaking events at the 2022 Asian Games (Hangzhou, CHN, 23 Sep-8 Oct 2023), 2023 European Games (Krakow, POL, 21 Jun-2 Jul 2023) and the 2023 Pan American Games (Santiago, CHI, 20 Oct-5 Nov 2023) will qualify a spot. The new dates of the 2022 Asian Games have been announced following its postponement, allowing the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) to update the system. Breaking is not present at the 2023 African Games nor the 2023 Pacific Games, and Africa and Oceania's qualifier remains "to be determined". This means that those continents may have to have a separate qualifier not attached to a major Games. Breaking was recently added to the 2023 Pan American Games, the sport's debut at the PanAms. The WDSF seemed delighted and Breaking seems to be solidifying itself as an established sport at major Games, increasing the chances it will survive beyond Paris 2024. The European Games will open the qualification procedure for Breaking. Patrick Green Writer, Totallympics News

Aquatics, a sport containing five disciplines, has revealed the qualification procedure for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The reveal of the systems for Artistic Swimming, Diving, Marathon Swimming, Swimming, and Water Polo mean that Athletics is the only sport yet to release any systems, although the BMX Freestyle discipline of Cycling is also yet to reveal its qualification procedure. Artistic Swimming Artistic Swimming is a women's only discipline, with a reduction from 104 to 96 women competing, down from Tokyo 2020,. There are still two events: a teams' event and a duets' event. A duet consists of two athletes, while a team consists of eight. Just like 2020, there will be ten teams, at most one per NOC. The host country will automatically gain a spot, while the winners of Continental Championships (dates and times TBC) gain a spot for each continent apart from Europe (as France automatically take their continental spot). The only continental championship to be revealed is the 2023 Pan American Games (Santiago, CHI, 20 Oct-5 Nov 2023). The other five places will be earned at the 21st FINA World Championships (Doha, QAT, 2-18 Feb 2024). This means that there is no longer a separate qualification event, perhaps due to the shorter cycle between Games. For the duets, there will now be 18 pairings, down from 22. The ten teams will automatically qualify a duet, and the two athletes in the duet must also be part of the team. Again, the winners of Continental Championships including the 2023 Pan American Games will earn a spot. Technically, the European spot should go to France, but as they will have already qualified from the Team competition there will also be a European event. The final three places will be earned at the 21st FINA World Championships. Again, this means the end of the qualification event. In the 2020 cycle, the Worlds were not a designated qualifying event for duets (although it was used for some continental quotas). Diving Diving has Individual and Synchronised 3m Springboard and 10m Platform events for both gender and 68 athletes per gender, this represents no change from 2020. In individual events, there are at most two places per NOC, but each individual athlete can only earn one place. The top twelve athletes at the 2023 FINA World Championships (Fukuoka, JPN, 14-30 Jul 2023) will qualify a place. The winners of Continental Championships (dates and locations TBC) including the 2023 Pan American Games will also qualify a spot. In this event, only the winners will qualify a place; if the winner has already qualified the place will be reallocated to the next qualification system. This is the 21st FINA World Championships, which will qualify twelve places plus any additional places. Extra places may also be added at this event in the case that the total quota of 136 places is for some reason not met. For the team events, there will be eight teams per event (one per NOC). The top three teams at the 2023 FINA World Championships, the top four at the 21st FINA World Championships, and the host country will be the eight teams. With two world championships during the cycle, the FINA World Cup has been replaced, but otherwise the system is mostly similar form 2024. Marathon Swimming In Marathon Swimming, there are 10km events for both genders, but there will now be 22 athletes per gender (at most two per NOC), down from 25. The qualification system is the same for both genders, just like Diving. Three athletes per gender will qualify a spot at the 2023 FINA World Championships, while the top thirteen athletes per gender from the 21st FINA World Championships will do the same. Each individual athlete can only earn one place at the Games. Then, the highest athlete left from each continent at those championships will also gain a place. Finally, there is a host country quota. Again, there is no longer a specific qualifier, instead the two world championships both earn places. Swimming Swimming has a total of thirty-five events. For both men and women, there are seventeen events: for Freestyle; 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1500m; for all of Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly; 100m and 200m; a 200m and 400m event for Individual Medley, both 4x100m and 4x200m Freestyle Relays and a 4x100m Medley Relay. The thirty-fifth event is a mixed 4x100m Relay. There are 426 athletes per gender, down from 439 in Tokyo. In each indvidual event, there are at most two athletes per NOC, and at most one relay team per NOC. In individual events, hitting the Olympic Qualification Time (OQT) in FINA-approved events (1 Mar 2023-23 Jun 2024) will earn you a pathway in automatically. But there is a complicated medley of alternative ways to qualify. One can qualify by universality invitation (if an NOC qualifies no athlete, they can enter one man or one women as long as they participated in either the Fukuoka or Doha World Championships), or being part of a relay team. If you meet the easier Olympic Consideration Time (OCT). One athlete per event will be invited based on the OCT until there are less than 28 places (or one per event) left. For the remaining 27 (or less) places, who gets the nod will be based on World Ranking. In the Relay, each event will have sixteen teams. Three teams will qualify from the 2023 FINA World Championships and thirteen will qualify from the 21st FINA World Championships. This will allow two additional athletes per relay entered per NOC, at most twelve. This system is a slight modification from the 2020 system, basing the times on WCs only. Water Polo Water Polo maintains its 12-team men's tournament and 10-team women's tournament from 2020. A team consists of eleven members, and there is at most one team per NOC per event. Two teams will qualify from the 2023 FINA World Championships. The hosts will qualify, with five places (one per event) being earned at Continental Championships (dates and locations TBC) including the 2023 Pan American Games. The final four men's spots and the final two women's spots will be earned at the 21st FINA World Championships. The FINA Word League is gone as a qualifier, and like other events the dedicated qualifer is replaced by the extra World Championships. The Paris 2024 qualification system is underway, with host quotas decided and ranking periods underway, with some dedicated qualifiers taking place in Football and Triathlon.

In a move that could have major ramifications for Olympic qualification, the 2022 Asian Games have been delayed by a year. In May this year it was announced that the Games, to be held in Hangzhou, China, from 10-25 September were to be postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. China is pursuing a "Zero-COVID" policy even now and the Games were thought to be too big a risk. This was a move that put a few sports' Olympic qualifiers into doubt. The Asian Games are the qualifying event for hockey in Asia and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) President Dato Tayyab Ikram said that if the Games could not be held before September 2023 then the AHF would have to put on a separate qualification event as a "plan B". But new dates for the Games have now been announced with the Games taking place from 23 September to 8 October 2023. The Games consist of all Summer Olympic sports from 2020 and 2024 as well as Cricket, Dragon Boat, Kabbadi, Martial Arts (Ju-jitsu, Karate, and Kurash), "Mind Sports" (Bridge, Chess, Esports, Go, and Xiangqi), Roller skating, Sepak taraw, Squash, and Wushu. Archery and Tennis will also see qualification spots earned at the Games. Patrick Green Writer, Totallympics News

The world champion American women's footballers have qualified for the Paris 2024 football tournament while Canada and Jamaica will face off in a two-legged "Olympic play-in" for the second and final North American spot in September 2023. On finals day in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, the third-placed play-off was held before the final at Estadio BBVA in Guadelupe, home of Monterrey CF, one of the continent's biggest men's football clubs. In the third-placed match, Jamaica took on Haiti with the winner keeping their Olympic dream alive in the play-in. And perhaps nerves were shown in a tetchy game that was goalless after ninety minutes. But in extra time a lovely through ball found Kalyssa Vanzanten who made no mistake to give Jamaica the win. In the final, it was another close affair that was decided by one goal. Alyssa Chapman put a hand on Rose Lavelle in the box who went down to give the Americans a rather soft penalty, and Alex Morgan sent the admittedly dominant side the wrong way to give them the win. What that means is the US qualify for the Olympics and the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup, as well as win the trophy, while defending Olympic champions Canada have to face Jamaica in the Olympic play-in. The US now have both sets of quotas in football and the women's team have qualified for every football event in Olympic history. Patrick Green Writer, Totallympics News