Who can win Olympic quota places at the Pan American Championships?

Next week’s Pan American Championships won't only offer continental champion titles. It will also award six quota places to the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

There are three spots available for recurve men and three for recurve women.

These quota places are reserved for countries in the Americas and can only be won by countries who haven’t already secured a place in the respective competitions. Each nation can only collect a maximum of one quota place per gender in Monterrey, Mexico.

Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and the USA have already won quotas in one or both of the events during their two prior opportunities to qualify, the past Hyundai World Archery Championships and the Pan American Games in 2019.

There is only one last qualification tournament, which will take place in Paris in June, after these continental championships. (That event is open to all nations, and team places will also available.)

However, with travel plans uncertain, next week’s competition in Monterrey might be the last chance for some of these athletes to qualify for the Games. The pressure on archers is high – and the battle for these quota places will be intense.

Recurve men

Who’s already qualified? Brazil, Canada and the USA.

Who’s competing in Monterrey? Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Venezuela.

What’s the story? Rumour has it that Cuba’s Adrian Puentes – who competed in Rio – is shooting exceptionally well. He‘s backed up in Monterrey by two-time Olympian Juan Carlos Stevens. Allegedly, the Cuban team reckons it has a good chance to qualify at this event and is sending its team on an Odyssey of a journey – with an intercontinental flight connection in Paris – to make it.

Mexico failing to qualify at the worlds was disappointing. They’ve got a good chance to rectify that on home soil.

One of the under-the-radar stories of lockdown has been the significant leap in the level of Nicholas d’Amour, the US Virgin Islands archer who’s been training in facilities across the continental USA. Now 19 years of age – he finished 124th at the worlds two years ago after failing to qualify for the eliminations – d’Amour is now shooting scores of 670-plus on the 72-arrow, 70-metre ranking round.

Who are the favourites? Cuba, Mexico and the US Virgin Islands.

Recurve women

Who’s already qualified? Colombia, Mexico and the USA.

Who’s competing in Monterrey? Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands and Venezuela.

What’s the story? ‘Legacy’ is a longstanding Olympic buzzword. Brazil didn’t have a competitive international recurve team before it was developed in the lead-up to Rio 2016 – and then Ane Marcelle Dos Santos produced the host nation’s best result of the archery event, finishing ninth.

Ane will lead the qualification charge in Monterrey, with one eye on securing that legacy.

Canada is likely to collect a spot based on the past performances of the team it’s sending and the country’s record in sending archers to the Olympics. Behind that, this event is wide open – and likely to produce a surprise.

Who are the favourites? Brazil and Canada.

Olympic qualification in the Americas

These are the countries in the Americas that have secured quota places for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games ahead of the 2021 Pan American Championships.

•  Brazil: 1 (1 man)
•  Canada: 1 (1 man)
•  Colombia: 1 (1 woman)
•  Mexico: 1 (1 woman)
•  USA: 2 (1 man, 1 woman)

Competition at the Pan American Championships starts with qualification on Tuesday. The Olympic quota places will be awarded on Saturday 27 March.