Olympic Beach Volleyball Rankings: Brazilian men’s race nearing a golden end
Olympics Beach
Travis Mewhirter
April 2, 2024
The race for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games officially began in February 2023 in Doha, Qatar, with the Volleyball World Elite16. The 2024 season began the first week of March back in Doha, and the final event of the Olympic qualification cycle will be the Ostrava Elite16, which ends on June 9. We’ll be providing these updates for the Beach Volleyball Olympic rankings throughout the next two years.
There have been minor blows, mere jabs to the body of Pedro and Guto’s campaign for an Olympic berth in Paris 2024. But the past two weeks have been hooks to the head — a gold medal won at the Recife Challenge by Evandro Goncalves and Arthur Mariano, then another by fellow countrymen George Wanderley and Andre Loyola at the Saquarema Challenge. Meanwhile, Pedro and Guto, already trailing in the Olympic race, settled for a pair of ninths, which came on the back of a first-round qualifier loss at the Doha Elite16 earlier in March.
Just like that, seemingly in a span of two weeks, the Brazil men’s race for the Paris Olympic Games may be over. George and Andre are now ranked No. 4 in the world, Evandro and Arthur No. 6. The latter lead Pedro and Guto by 1,400 points, the former by 1,840. With eight events still remaining, including an Elite16 in Brazil in which Pedro and Guto may receive a main draw wild card, it is too early to fully pronounce the race over, but, barring something extraordinary from Pedro and Guto — and they are capable of extraordinary — it is nearing its end.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Canadian women’s race seems to have only just begun. The last-minute partnership of Sophie Bukovec and Heather Bansley popped off for another 600 points at the Saquarema Challenge with a fifth-place finish. That came on the heels of a silver medal in Recife. In the same two weeks that Brazil’s race has leapt closer to the finish line, Bukovec and Bansley’s race has leapt eight spots in the Olympic rankings, drawing ever-nearer to Canada’s No. 2, Sarah Pavan and Molly McBain.
To qualify for the Olympic Games via the Olympic rankings, teams use their best 12 finishes throughout the Olympic qualifying period, which ends June 9, 2024. The top 17 from the Olympic rankings will punch their tickets to the Paris Olympics. The remaining seven spots are allotted to five continental cup champions, the winner of the 2023 World Championships, and the French wild card.
Each country is limited to two teams who can earn a spot in the Olympic Games.
Teams can never push out good finishes. Once you hit your 12, you only replace your worst finishes. In parentheses below is the number of events each pair has played.
You earn points as a team. Therefore, if a team breaks up and the individuals select new partners, they begin with zero Olympic ranking points, although they keep their individual entry points to get into events.
