USA, Canada and Mexico won places at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in three different team sports thanks to their performances at the Toronto 2015 Parapan America Games, which came to an end on Saturday (15 August).

Mexico won the bronze medal in the Parapan Games five-a-side football competition, which is contested by visually impaired players. However, as gold and silver medallists Brazil and Argentina already had their places guaranteed (as the host nation and world championship runners up, respectively) the Mexicans – who beat Colombia on penalties in the bronze medal match – were confirmed for Rio by the International Blind Sports Federation.

In the wheelchair rugby tournament in Toronto, hosts Canada beat the USA for the gold medal, with Colombia taking bronze. The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation confirmed Canada’s place in Rio, where they will join host nation Brazil and world champions Australia.

The Canadian women and USA men booked their places in the Rio 2016 sitting volleyball tournament, as confirmed by World ParaVolley. They join host nation Brazil (men and women), China (men and women), Iran (men and women), Rwanda (women), USA (women), Bosnia (men) and Egypt (men) in having qualified for next year’s event.

Brazil topped the medal table in Toronto with 257 podiums, including 109 gold medals, ahead of Canada (168 medals, 50 gold) and the USA (135 medals, 40 gold).

Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympic 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.