Key Olympic Qualifier Begins in Russia

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 25, 2021) – In just two weeks, the U.S. Beach National Team will know which duos will represent the United States during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Two more 4-star tournaments on the FIVB’s Beach World Tour will provide points toward Olympic qualification. The first competition begins Wednesday, May 26, in Sochi, Russia.

Six women’s and five men’s pairs will compete in Sochi.

On the women’s side, Alix Klineman/April Ross, Kelley Kolinske/Emily Stockman and Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil each enter the tournament’s main draw, which begins Thursday. Three more pairs – Brooke Sweat/Kerri Walsh Jennings, Aurora Davis/Sarah Schermerhorn and Corrine Quiggle/Allie Wheeler, who are fresh off a gold medal at a 1-star event in Sofia, Bulgaria, will compete for the final U.S. spot at Sochi. The winner of this country quota will begin play in the qualification round one day later.

For the men, Taylor Crabb/Jake Gibb, Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena and Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb advance directly to the main draw. Chaim Schalk/Theo Brunner and Travis Mewhirter/Adam Roberts will compete Tuesday in the country quota, and the winner of that match will play in Sochi’s qualifier.

With just one other chance to optimize their Olympic Ranking points (in Ostrava, Czech Republic), Sochi is a critical tournament for several U.S. Beach National Team pairs. Only one duo – Klineman/Ross – has mathematically clinched an Olympic berth, awarded to the two highest-ranked American duos in the Provisional Olympic Ranking provided they also finish among the ranking’s overall top 15.

Below are scenarios each duo needs in the final two qualifying tournaments to earn a berth.

Klineman/Ross – 1st overall; 9,400 points

• Have clinched an Olympic berth
• Can add Olympic Ranking Points with a third-place finish or higher

Sweat/Walsh Jennings – 6th; 6,960 points

• Can add Olympic Ranking Points with a fourth-place finish or higher
• Can clinch an Olympic berth with a win AND a Claes/Sponcil fourth-place finish or worse OR a second-place finish or better AND a Claes/Sponcil fifth-place finish or worse

Claes/Sponcil – 9th; 6,800 points

• Can add Olympic Ranking Points with a fourth-place finish or higher
• Need one third-place finish OR two fourth-place finishes to tie Sweat/Walsh Jennings
  • Provided Sweat/Walsh Jennings do not add more points

Kolinske/Stockman – 14th; 6,360 points

• Can add Olympic Ranking Points with a fourth-place finish or higher
• Need two second-place finishes or higher OR one third and one first-place finish to pass Sweat/Walsh Jennings
  • Provided Sweat/Walsh Jennings do not add more points

Ta. Crabb/Gibb – T-9th overall; 7,040 points

• Can add Olympic Ranking Points with a fifth-place finish or higher
• Can clinch an Olympic berth with a Bourne/Tr. Crabb ninth-place or worse OR a finish equal to or better than Bourne/Tr. Crabb

Dalhausser/Lucena – T-9th; 7,040 points

• Can add Olympic Ranking Points with a fifth-place finish or higher
• Can clinch an Olympic berth with a Bourne/Tr. Crabb ninth-place or worse OR a finish equal to or better than Bourne/Tr. Crabb

Bourne/Tr. Crabb – 14th; 6,600 points

• Can add Olympic Ranking Points with a fifth-place finish or higher
• Need two third-place finishes or higher OR one fifth and one first-place finish OR one second and one fourth-place finish to move into the top two
  • Provided either Ta. Crabb/Gibb or Dalhausser/Lucena do not add points

The world’s top three women’s pairs will compete in Sochi. Klineman/Ross lead the Olympic Rankings with 9,400 points, followed by Sarah Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes of Canada (9,320 points) and Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda Santos Lisboa of Brazil (9,040 points). Four more teams in the top 10 will compete, too, including Sweat/Walsh Jennings and Claes/Sponcil.

Nine of the top 10 men’s teams will take to the Sochi sands, including top-ranked Anders Mol/Christian Sorum of Norway. They won the first two tournaments of the Cancun hub. Qatar’s Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan, who won the third Cancun event and are fifth in the Olympic Rankings, will also compete.

For more information and a complete schedule of the Sochi 4-star, visit the tournament’s webpage. Links to a live stream of each match may be found on the FIVB’s Beach Volleyball YouTube account.