Olympic Qualifying to Conclude in Ostrava

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 1, 2021) – After three years, members of the U.S. Beach National Team will finally determine who will represent the United States at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo this week. Qualifying concludes with one final, four-star tournament in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The J&T Banka Ostrava Beach Open runs June 2-6 with country-quota matches taking place Tuesday, June 1.

Nine pairs – four men’s and five women’s – will compete in Ostrava. Five pairs have the chance to clinch a berth to Tokyo. For the men, Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb, Taylor Crabb/Jake Gibb and Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena will compete for two Olympic spots. All three will begin in Ostrava’s main draw.

Theo Brunner/Chaim Schalk, who are not competing for an Olympic berth, will begin in Ostrava’s qualifier.

Alix Klineman/April Ross, the only team that has clinched its spot in Tokyo, will start in Ostrava’s main draw.

Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil and Brooke Sweat/Kerri Walsh Jennings will decide the final women’s slot for the U.S. Claes/Sponcil, fresh off a tournament win in Sochi, will advance directly to Ostrava’s main draw. Because they have fewer entry points, Sweat/Walsh Jennings must compete with Emily Day/Sara Hughes in a country quota match. The winner will advance to the qualifier.

Kelley Kolinske/Emily Stockman, who were eliminated from Olympic contention in Sochi, will also begin in Ostrava’s main draw.

The qualification scenarios are as follows:

Alix Klineman/April Ross – Second overall; 9,400 points

• Clinched an Olympic berth

Sarah Sponcil/Kelly Claes – Sixth overall; 7,120 points

• Can clinch an Olympic berth with a second-place finish OR a Sweat/Walsh Jennings fourth-place finish or lower

Brooke Sweat/Kerri Walsh Jennings – Seventh overall; 6,960 points

• Can clinch an Olympic berth with a third-place finish or higher (assuming Claes/Sponcil do not add points)

Taylor Crabb/Jake Gibb – T-Ninth overall; 7,040 points

• Can clinch an Olympic berth with a fifth-place finish or higher OR a Bourne/Tr. Crabb second-place finish or lower OR by equaling Dalhausser/Lucena’s finish

Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena – T-Ninth overall; 7,040 points

• Can clinch an Olympic berth with a fifth-place finish or higher OR a Bourne/Tr. Crabb second-place finish or lower

Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb – 14th overall; 6,680 points

• Can clinch an Olympic berth with a first-place finish AND a Ta. Crabb/Gibb or Dalhausser/Lucena ninth-place finish or worse

Eight of the 10 highest-ranked men’s teams in the Olympic rankings will compete in Ostrava, including top-ranked Anders Mol/Christian Sorum of Norway. Sochi gold medalists Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losziak of Poland will also compete in Ostrava.

Seven of the top 10 women’s teams will also compete in Ostrava, three of which are American. Klineman/Ross lead the Olympic rankings, Claes/Sponcil are sixth and Sweat/Walsh Jennings seventh. Tanja Huberli/Nina Betschart of Switzerland, whom Claes/Sponcil beat for gold in Sochi, will also compete in Ostrava.

For more information and a complete schedule of the Ostrava four-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.