Irish boxing have spelt out the remaining options for Rio 2016 qualification as Zaur Antia and his Team prepare for the next series of qualification events.
Its a complex matrix but IABA have published the article below on their website to highlight what is required.
The first port of call for Europe is the Black Sea city of Samsun, Turkey in April. The tournament will yield 30 places for men and 6 for women, with the top three in each weight class qualifying for men and the top two (the finalists) for women.
The finalists (top two) in Samsun automatically qualify for Rio 2016 for men, but whether the semi-finalist that loses to the eventual gold medallist makes up the top three or the two losing semi-finalists box-off has yet to be confirmed, although a precedent was set at the World Elite Men’s Championships and Olympic qualifiers in Qatar last year when the losing semi-finalists met in box-offs to complete the top three for Rio.
The World Series of Boxing (WSB) versus AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) qualifiers in Sofia, Bulgaria in May will see the top three from light-fly to light-heavy qualifying. Heavyweights and super-heavyweight have drawn the short straw as they must win gold (top one).
As things stand for Irish male boxing Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlan, Steven Donnelly and Joe Ward have qualified for Rio.
But, beginning in Turkey in April, it’s all to play for for Ireland’s Elites in the nine other weight classes.
Two hundred and eighty six boxers – 250 men and 36 women – compete at each Olympics.
Likewise, 272 places – 240 for men and 32 for women – are available through the competitive qualification process. Sixty of those place have already been taken via last year’s AOB, WSB and APB competitions.
European Olympic qualifiers Samsun, Turkey April 7th/18th
Men – Top 3
Women – Top 2
WSB v APB, Olympic qualifiers Sofia, Bulgaria May 13th/22nd
Top 3 in eight weights from light-fly to light-heavy. Top 1 (gold) for heavyweights and super-heavyweights.
World Elite Women’s Championships and Olympic qualifiers Astana, Kazakhstan May 19th/27th
Top 4 in three Olympic weight classes of flyweight, lightweight and middleweight
Final World AOB Olympic qualifiers (for Men) Baku, Azerbaijan June 7th/19th
Top 2 (light-fly). Top five from fly to light-heavy. Top 1 (gold) for heavyweights and super-heavyweights
