As the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games came to an end on Sunday night (26 July) more qualifiers for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games were confirmed in table tennis, modern pentathlon and equestrian jumping. 

The winners of the men’s and women’s singles titles in table tennis – Brazil’s Hugo Calderano and the USA’s Wu Yue – won places at next year’s Olympic Games, as confirmed by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

Wu defeated Brazil’s Gui Lin 4-3 in a thrilling women’s final on Saturday. Having taken a 2-0 lead, the American went 3-2 behind before fighting back to clinch the title and her place in Rio. “I feel amazing, I am going to the Olympic Games,” said the 25-year-old. “This is a dream come true.”

Later on Saturday, 19-year-old Calderano triumphed 4-3 over compatriot Gustavo Tsuboi, who was the no.1 seed. “I just cannot describe how I feel, it's incredible, there are no words,” said Calderano, who won the bronze medal at last year’s Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.

Wu and Calderano join Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Li Jiao of the Netherlands in the Rio 2016 singles tournaments. Ovtcharov and Li won the men’s and women’s singles titles, respectively, at the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June.

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has confirmed that Canada and Argentina have claimed places in the Rio 2016 jumping team event via the Pan-American Games, while Colombia and Venezuela both earned two spots in the individual competition, with Uruguay and Peru taking one each.

Canada and Argentina booked their places in Rio by taking gold and silver, respectively, in Toronto, and they join the Netherlands, France, USA, Germany, Sweden, Brazil and Qatar in having their Olympic spots confirmed.

In the individual event, the top six finishers in Toronto whose countries had not already qualified in the team event would earn Rio 2016 slots for their nations. Venezuela earned two places thanks to silver medallist Andres Rodrigues and Emanuel Andrade’s sixth place finish, while Colombia had Daniel Bluman and Fernando Cardenas, who tied in 11th place, to thank for their two Olympic berths. Uruguay’s Nestor Nielsen Van Hoff (ninth) and Peru’s Alonso Valdez (also 11th) earned places for their nations.

The USA had already won places in the eventing and dressage team events at Rio 2016, via the Pan-American Games.

In the women’s modern pentathlon event in Toronto, Brazil’s Yane Marques won gold ahead of Mexican pair Tamara Vega and Mayan Oliver. With one Olympic place per nation up for grabs, silver medallist Vega earned a place in Rio, but Oliver did not, and the other Olympic berths were secured by Canada’s Donna Vakalis, Guatemala’s Isabel Brand and Cuba’s Leydi Laura Moya, as confirmed by the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM).

Marques had already earned an Olympic place by taking bronze at the world championships in Berlin, but her Pan American Games gold means she will now compete in Rio as the continental champion for South America. The place she earned at the world championships will be passed down to Great Britain’s Samantha Murray, who finished fifth in Berlin.

In the men’s modern pentathlon event, Charles Fernandez won gold for Guatemala and a place in Rio, as did silver medallist Ismael Hernandez of Mexico and bronze medallist Nathan Schrimsher  of the USA. Completing the top five and securing their places at the Olympic Games were Cuba’s Jose Figueroa and Emmanuel Zapata of Argentina.

Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games here.

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.