Dunadan

Colbrelli got a defibrillator implanted...that bars him from being deemed fit to compete by the Italian NF and NOC.

As we also often see in Olympic qualification, the number of federations is vastly different and it happens that it would be similar if you divided the world in 4 zones instead of having some with 10 teams and some with 50...Europe (and South America, which will get to qualify at least 60% of their teams next times) get more teams but remember what was happening when, with the old FIFA ranking until 2018, the coefficient of a zone was determined by intercontinental games, results were so one sided in favor of UEFA and CONMEBOL against the rest that they had to introduce a completely made up minimum that in practice was giving N. American, Asian and African teams 3,4, sometimes 6 times the number of points that they earned "on the field"

I expect to be drawn in group A

E Nicolato per prima cosa cosa ha dato la colpa al campo in cattive condizioni

The new world ranking (a more normal one, without that stupid points decay) was certainly meant to be used for qualification - see https://www.issf-sports.org/news.ashx?newsid=3700

Non essendoci riusciti in circostanze molto più favorevoli e con rose migliori negli anni passati, e con un allenatore che già mette le mani avanti lamentandosi dei pochi giovani fenomeni a disposizione (perchè ovviamente nazioni come Polonia e Svezia che ci sono costate le ultime 2 qualificazioni olimpiche hanno una marea di giovani titolari in campionati top) mi sembra molto ottimista pensare di qualificarsi stavolta. Ma tanto è sempre la solita cantilena, tentare di dare colpe al "sistema", ai club, a chiunque per giustificare un'eliminazione con la Macedonia del Nord dopo aver fallito un girone con squadre mediocri.

Oh please, they have been missing from fencing wc in 4 weapons out of 6 since Tokyo, with a couple of appeareances in the other 2, nothing in shooting wc, gymnastics wc, karate series A and PL, Judo ...all sports with a world cup style circuit...have they been in covid lockdown for huge outbreaks for the past 5 months or so?

Idiot Mancini, if you have your tax dodging problems on your mind have the decency to leave in November at least. Worse than Ventura

China is barely partecipating - or being completely absent- in many international summer sports anymore in the last months, is it all due to covid? Not really believable

The link says only one in pot 4, the team from Ukraine path which won't be decided by next week and so can't be placed by ranking+ 2 teams from intercontinental playoffs

It's the best series imo - trying to guess the winner before the qualification even starts. I think it was mentioned yesterday that people would choose who they hope will win rather than who they think will win...but that always happens, even if you start doing the polls with 100 days to go.

on Thursday, 17 March, at 19:30 CET

Let's not conveniently forget that Russia was not a normal country in good standing with the IOC and the sports world for other well known matters, and on the verge of being outright banned since 2016. So allowing athletes to compete as independent = no difference at all from the previous situation at the most important competitions, all sports WCh and Olympics, where this was already happening. Not to talk about some specific sports when they were well past that point. What to do if the current situation will drag on for years is a more difficult decision, I guess Europeans kicking out Russia and the more friendly Asians welcoming them, in a Israel case in reverse, to start a reintegration in the sports world. But who knows, Russians can start some other shit in the meantime.

There are more professional Lithuanian track and field athletes and rowers than basketball players? That's surprising

I and my clone broke the forum

Already a +3000% increase in the number of medals from the previous partecipation, the greatest home boost in the whole Olympic/Paralympic history?

By world ranking, Ukraine was the first team which missed out. But we'll have to see if there is a new host that's not already qualified.

The format has been changed, since now they are looking to host the WCh in several countries...six pools of 4 teams each, then directly to the knockout phase with the top 16 (including the four best third placed teams). From 3 pool stages to 1, with a maximum of 7 matches played in total by the finalists. it's unclear if the pools will stay the same, with another team in place of Russia, or there will be another draw

Chinese Foreign Ministry contributing to spread a hoax and calling on biolaboratories being subjected to multilateral verification must be one of the candidates for the troll of the year award.

Or Eritrea.

Of Junior Euros? https://www.fencingtimelive.com/tournaments/eventSchedule/1BCE3C2034BB45CAB4B6529663B44FCE#today And Cadets (under 17) starting today: https://www.fencingtimelive.com/tournaments/eventSchedule/3BAB6182B150494A84D26017BC6224A8#today

Surely they checked with the interested university...oh wait, we can't declare Europe drunk anymore if we check.

Reportedly, other countries'federations had also agreed to not show up if they were to face Russia. And then Russia retired in the middle of the competition, just before the semis.