There’s no two ways about it: Li Dan will compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. That’s not a typo about Chinese star Lin Dan, in Rio recently for the badminton test event, but his compatriot, the trampoline gymnastics star who won the World Championship in the Danish city of Odense last Sunday (29 November). At the end of the event, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced the countries to have qualified for the Olympic Games and those that will contest the final spots at the Gymnastics Qualifying Final, the Aquece Rio test event to be staged from 16-24 April at the Rio Olympic Arena. And Li Dan, just like Gao Lei, the men’s world champion, was among the names announced for the test event.

Thanks to her performance in Odense, Li Dan helped book one of the two Olympic places for her country – and as a world champion, is unlikely to be dislodged from the Chinese team ahead of Rio 2016. It was a prize for the athlete, who had already won the world title in 2010, but, according to the FIG, has endured a career of highs and lows which kept her from the top positions at large events on several occasions.

In the men’s competition, Gao Lei also secured a spot for China at the Rio 2016 Games. The big story at the World Championship was the performance of current Olympic champion and fellow Chinese athlete, Dong Dong, – since 2007 he has not been off the podium at world championships and Olympic Games. Just like in the women’s competition, the three first-placed athletes at the World Championship will come to Brazil for the test event next year.
 

Spots for the Rio 2016 Games

Women’s:

China (2), Belarus (2), Canada, Great Britain (2) and Georgia.

Men’s:

China (2), Belarus, Russia (2), Japan (2) and France.

Li Dan at the awards ceremony in Odense:
 

Presenting the Women's Individual #Trampoline podium from the Odense Worlds! Congrats to 2015 World champion Li Dan. pic.twitter.com/lYw5wNKVdE

— FIG (@gymnastics) 29 novembro 2015

As in the women’s competition, the gold medal in the men’s competition went to China:

Presenting the Men's Individual #Trampoline podium from the Odense Worlds! Congrats to 2015 World champion Gao Lei. pic.twitter.com/zugVOt6zjJ

— FIG (@gymnastics) 29 novembro 2015

Spots for the test event, which will be a qualifier for the Olympic Games:

Women’s:

Ukraine (2), Uzbekistan (2), USA, Russia (2), Japan (2), Portugal, Germany, France and Holland – these spots are for the National Olympic Committees, who will decide their competitors for the test event.

Reserves: Greece, Mexico and USA

Li Dan (China), Liu Lingling (China) and Tatsiana Piatrenia (Belarus), who were atop the podium at the World Championship, but their performances in this competition will not affect the qualification process for the Games.

Men’s:

New Zealand, USA (2), Australia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Great Britain, Canada, Kazakhstan, Portugal (2), Colombia and Brazil – these sports are for the National Olympic Committees, who will decide their competitors for the test event.

Reserves: Ukraine, Poland and Germany

Gao Lei (China), Uadizislau Hancharou (Belarus) and Andrey Yudin (Russia) who were atop the podium at the World Championship, will also take part in the test event, but their performances in this competition will not affect the qualification process for the Games.
 

The FIG explains in a video the qualification process for the Rio 2016 Games:

Watch some World Championship highlights:

Follow here the race for Rio 2016 qualification

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.