Eyes turn to Rio for Americas Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta

The second continental qualification regatta for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games kicks off this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Seventy-five athletes across 58 crews will be looking to obtain a quota place and continue on their road to Paris through the 2024 World Rowing Americas Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta.

Single Sculls

In the men’s single sculls there are 19 entries, eight of whom competed in this boat class at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. It would be hard to overlook Brazil’s Lucas Verthein Ferreira, who is aiming for his second Olympic Games. He struck gold at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, and finished the highest placed of all his competitors for this regatta at last year’s World Rowing Championships – 14th. Bruno Cetraro Berriolo, who finished 6th in the lightweight men’s double sculls in Tokyo, and has since made the switch over to heavyweight and will be looking to qualify for his second Olympic Games as well.

The women’s single sculls features 10 competitors. The name to watch out for is Kenia Lechuga of Mexico, who picked up silver in the lightweight women’s single at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, and followed that up with Pan American gold in the openweight single later in 2023. Lechuga will be looking to qualify for her third Games representing Mexico in this boat class. Argentina’s Maria Sol Amaya (nee Ordas) could test Lechuga – Amaya is the 2018 Youth Olympic Games Champion.

The only competitor in the PR1 women’s single sculls who has competed at a World Rowing event before is Brenda Sardon of Argentina, who will be looking to qualify for her second Games. On the PR1 men‘s side, Michel Munoz Malagon of Mexico will be looking to qualify for his second Games against a relatively new field of competitors.

Double Sculls

The lightweight men’s double sculls features the silver and bronze medallists from the 2023 Pan American Games, Chile’s Cesar Abaroa and Eber Sanhueza and Argentina’s Alejandro Matias Colomino and Pedro Jose Kirk Dickson. The Chileans raced this combination in Tokyo, where they finished 14th. For Uruguay, Felipe Kluver Ferreira will be looking to qualify and improve on his A-Final finish from Tokyo. He is joined by a new partner, Franco Liuzzi.

Only six boats complete the field in the lightweight women’s double sculls, who will all be eyeing those two qualification spots on the line. Isidora Niemeyer of Chile is the 2023 Pan American champion in this boat class, but joined by new partner Josefa Vila Betancurt. Also on that podium were the Argentinian double of Sonia Baluzzo Chiaruzzo and Evelyn Maricel Silvestro.

Amongst a new group of competitors, the only crew in the PR3 mixed double sculls with experience at the World level is the Mexican crew of Miguel Nieto Carpio and Angeles Gutierrez, who have competed together since 2017, with a top finish of 7th place at the 2017 World Rowing Championships in this boat class.

Full entries available here.

ABOUT QUALIFICATION

Quota places available at this event:

Men’s Single Sculls: 5

Women’s Single Sculls: 5

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls: 2

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls: 2

PR1 Men’s Single Sculls: 1

PR1 Women’s Single Sculls: 1

PR3 Mixed Double Sculls: 1

Qualification Documents

The Olympic Qualification system can be found here: Olympic Qualification System

The Paralympic Qualification system can be found here: Paralympic Qualification Regulations