Five goalball teams have booked their places at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.The Finland and USA men’s teams and the USA, Russia and Turkey women’s sides confirmed their qualification on Saturday (5 July) at the 2014 IBSA Goalball World Championships in Espoo, Finland. Brazil, whose men’s side won the world title and whose women finished fifth, already had their places in Rio confirmed, as the host nation.

Two weeks ago, four sitting volleyball teams became the first athletes to qualify for the Rio 2016 Games, when Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran’s men’s teams and the China and USA women’s teams claimed their places via their world championships.

Throughout 2014, athletes from at least 10 Olympic sports and 12 Paralympic sports will earn qualification spots for the greatest sporting event on the planet.

Brazil won their first goalball world championship by beating the hosts 9-1. It was revenge for the Brazilians, who lost 8-1 to Finland in the gold medal match at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. USA beat Lithuania, the defending world champions, 4-2 in the bronze medal match, to confirm their Rio 2016 spot.

"It’s overwhelming for our team, we’ve come a long way,” said USA’s Joseph Hamilton. “We didn’t make the London 2012 Games that was very hard for us. To qualify for Rio at the first chance, and against a team that has been our nemesis in recent years, is awesome. If we play our own style, I believe we are one of the best teams in the world, and now we’ve got a chance to try to prove that on the grandest stage of all."

Places at Rio 2016 were due to be awarded to the top three sides in each gender, but as Brazil took first place in the men's competition, only two men's teams qualified for the next Paralympic Games on this occasion. The other spot will added to those on offer at next year's international qualification tournament for the Rio 2016 Games. 

The USA women beat Russia 3-0 in their final, while the bronze medal and third and final Rio 2016 qualification place was taken by Turkey, who overcame Paralympic champions Japan, also by 3-0.

"We had a nightmare in the semi-final against Russia (a 2-1 defeat),” said Turkey’s assistant coach Eren Yilbrim. “But our main aim was a place at Rio 2016 and we managed to recuperate and focus on this. We’re really pleased.”

Next year, 13 more goalball teams will qualify for Rio 2016 via four continental competitions, each offering places to one men’s and one women’s team, plus one international tournament that will offer spots to three men's and two women's teams.

Shooting will be the next Paralympic sport to confirm places at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, through its world championships between 17 and 26 July, in Suhl, Germany, where 63 spaces will be up for grabs. The first Olympic spots will be awarded in equestrian, at the World Equestrian Games in August and September in France.