Pho3nix Athletes Program: Pathway to Paris
News
With less than 200 days to go until the Paris Olympic Games kick off, athletes from the Pho3nix Athlete Program are revving up in the race to qualify.
By winning silver at the 2023 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Spain secured its Olympic quota. For David Llorente, this means he now must compete amongst his fellow countrymen at internal selection races at the end of March for the sole Olympic spot, which will allow him to compete in both K1 Slalom as well as the new Kayak Cross category. He will also have another chance to secure a Kayak Cross qualifying spot at the ICF Kayak Cross Global Qualification Competition on 7th to 9th June 2024 where three quota places per gender will be awarded.
Jenjira Stadelmann is currently ranked #1 in Switzerland in all three badminton disciplines – singles, doubles, and mixed. With the qualification window open until April, she is currently ranked 31st in the Badminton World Federation ‘Race to Paris Ranking List’ with the top 34 male and female athletes eligible for quota entry spots into the Olympics.
Polish speed climber Patrycja Chudziak has qualified to compete at the two Paris qualifiers scheduled for May in Shanghai, and June in Budapest. The first five athletes in general classification at each of these events secure their Olympic spot, with a limit per nation of two per gender. While there is also one more spot chosen by the International Federation of Speed Climbing, she intends to place in the top five and ahead of other Polish athletes for a sure position.
Jehanara Nabi is getting ready for the World Aquatics Championships in Doha next month. The multiple national record holder needs to perform well there and secure the highest World Aquatic points among women in Pakistan to secure her spot on the Olympic national team.
Peruvian BMX rider Andre Lacroix is gunning for a wild card qualifying spot to the Olympics, which are given at the 2023 and 2024 UCI Continental Championships and the 2024 UCI World Championships. While these wild card spots will not be confirmed until two months before Paris, at the 2023 Continental Championships he finished highest among the small countries, improving his chance of selection.
While Jamie Riddle and Pragnya Mohan are both Olympic-aspiring triathletes, their paths to Paris are vastly different from each other. Currently placed #43, Jamie must race World Cups and World Triathlon Championship Series races to stay within the Top 60 in the Olympic simulation ranking for a chance at selection by the South African federation.
Meanwhile, Pragnya is working on selection under the “New Flag” criteria for Asia. A New Flag place is awarded to the highest-ranked male and female athlete within the top 180 worldwide from each continental association from a nation that has not already qualified for Paris outright. After recovering from reconstructive surgery for a wrist tendon tear, she will plan her selection races to work toward more points and rise in the rankings.
To qualify for Paris, Filipino skateboarder Margielyn Didal needs to be in the Top 44 of the Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings after the conclusion of the World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park & Street competition in March. She is currently ranked 43rd after placing 39th at the 2023 Street World Championship held in Tokyo last December.
For Edward Faulds, selection will be decided quite close to the Games because British Athletics coaches are set to meet in June or July to select their teams. Edward must run 400 metres in 45 seconds to be eligible for selection. For the 4×400 relay, selectors will judge the athletes based on the season and how they have performed. To achieve this, Edward will race the outdoor season in Europe and America beginning in March and April.
As these athletes tread their own pathways to Paris in the countdown to the Games, Pho3nix celebrates their dedication, tenacity, and resilience in the pursuit of competing among the world’s best. Together We Rise.
Related Articles