The composition of the Rio 2016 Olympic volleyball competition became clearer over the weekend as defending men’s champions Russia and women’s world champions the USA led five nations in qualifying. Cuba joined Russia in reaching the men’s Olympic tournament, while the Argentine and Russian women’s teams booked places in Brazil alongside the Americans.

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Russia’s men, who beat Brazil in the final of the London 2012 Olympic Games, confirmed that they will defend their title in Rio by fighting back from a set down to defeat European and World League champions France 3-1 in the final of European Olympic qualification tournament in Berlin on Sunday (10 December).

“I would like to stress that this tournament was a lot more difficult and competitive than the European Championship three months ago,” said Russia coach Vladimir Alekno. “I am very happy with the result and also for all players on the team who have worked hard towards this achievement.”

World champions Poland beat hosts Germany 3-2 in the third-place play-off to secure their place alongside France in the global Olympic qualifier in Tokyo in June.

Cuba’s men also confirmed their place in Rio by beating hosts Canada 3-0 in the final of the North/Central America and Caribbean qualifier in Edmonton on Sunday. It will be the Cubans’ first appearance at the Olympic Games since Sydney 2000. “It’s about time,” said Cuba captain Rolando Cepeda. “It’s a new beginning for Cuban volleyball and I think we have a team for the years to come.”

The USA men’s team had already qualified for Rio by winning last year’s World Cup and Canada will now focus on getting ready for June’s global Olympic qualifier. Brazil, Italy and Argentina are the other teams already confirmed for the 12-team men’s tournament.

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The USA women's team won silver at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Photo: Getty Images/Elsa)

The USA women’s team, who lost in the London 2012 and Beijing 2008 finals to Brazil, will have a chance for revenge in Rio after they defeated the Dominican Republic 3-0 in the final of the women’s North/Central America and Caribbean qualifier on home soil in Lincoln. “There are no words to describe it,” said USA spiker Jordan Larson. “It is unbelievable. I am happy that all the fans came out to support us.” The Dominicans qualified for the women’s global qualifier in Tokyo in May.

Russia’s women had booked their tickets to Rio on Saturday (9 January) by beating the Netherlands 3-1 in the final of the European qualifying tournament in Ankara, Turkey. Italy defeated the hosts in the third-place play-off to confirm their place alongside the Dutch in the women’s global qualifier.

Argentina were the third women’s team to qualify for Rio 2016 over the weekend, beating Peru 3-0 in the final of the South American qualifier on Sunday in the Argentine city of Bariloche. It will be the first time Argentina’s women, known as Las Panteras (The Panthers), have played at the Olympic Games. Brazil, China and Serbia are the other teams already confirmed for the 12-team women’s Olympic tournament.

Follow the race to qualify for the men’s and women’s Rio 2016 volleyball tournaments.

Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games across all sports

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.