Rugby Reveals Rio Qualifiers; Skating Champs Test Sochi; Scotland Wins Curling Worlds

Women’s Curling Qualification Takes Shape

Qualification for Sochi is a step closer to complete following Sunday’s dramatic finish at the World Women's Curling Championship in Riga, Latvia.

Scotland beat Sweden by a score of 6-5 to take gold with Canada rounding out the podium in bronze position.

Eight of the sport’s 10 spots of the 2014 Winter Olympics are now decided. Russia will, of course, get one with the others decided based on points from the 2012 and 2013 world champs.

Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain, Canada, USA, Denmark and Korea are also heading to the Games.

The remaining two berths will be booked at the new WCF Olympic Qualifying Event in December. Germany, Japan, China, Italy, Latvia, Czech Republic and Norway are the countries so far eligible to compete.

Dutch Dominate Speedskating Worlds

The Netherlands cruised to victory in the women’s pursuit race at speedskating's World Single Distance Championships in Sochi on Sunday.

Meerit Leenstra, Diane Valkenburg and two-time Sochi champion Ireen Wust clocked 3:00.02 minutes to defend their title.

Earlier Sunday, Vancouver Olympic champions Lee Sang-Hwa and Tae-Bum Mo brought South Korea two gold medals in the 500 meters events.

In the men’s pursuit races late Sunday, the Netherlands also took gold with Jan Blokhuijsen, Sven Kramer and Koen Verweij besting their Korean rivals with a time of 3:42:03.

In total, the Dutch won 13 medals over the weekend, 6 of them gold, compared to five total medals for Korea and five for the Russian hosts. USA, Czech Republic, Germany and Poland were the only other countries to win multiple medals.

The championships were the first international test event for the Adler Arena in the center of the Sochi Olympic Park ahead of next year's Winter Games.

"It’s flashing in my head when thinking that it is the place wh ere I have to be good next year and I really want to skate here a good race," said Jorrit Bergsma Netherlands, gold medal men's 10,000m.

"I really like how it’s organized here in Sochi: the arena and ice track are nice, atmosphere is warm."

The 8,000-seater venue will share the Olympic speedskating events with the adjacent Iceberg Skating Palace.

IRB Announces Rio Qualification Process

For the first Olympics rugby tournament since 1924, a total of 12 teams will qualify throughout a three-stage process, the International Rugby Board announced over the weekend.

Four will come from the 2014-2015 Sevens World Series and another six from a qualifying event staged across the IRB regions.

Of the final two, one may go to Brazil as the host country for the Games.

"We're looking at what performance criteria we can set for Brazil over the next two years to see if they can automatically qualify," Mark Egan, head of development at the IRB, was quoted by AFP.

"We want Brazil to be strong and we're working closely with them -- I think for the success of the tournament you'd want to see Brazil in both the men's and women's events, whether they qualify on merit or get an automatic position."

So either one or two spots could be up for grabs at a final qualification tournament filling the draw for rugby’s Olympic return at Rio 2016.

Complaints Over Brazilian World Cup Focus

A leading Brazilian athlete says athlete preparations for the 2016 Olympics are taking a backseat to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Brazilian pole vault world champion Fabiana Murer told the Xinhua News Agency on Sunday that deadlines for the football finals are receiving the lion’s share of attention from sport authorities.

"All the attention is being given to football and only after the World Cup will the focus turn to other sports," she said. "We are seeing athletes without clubs and training in difficult situations. I thought it was going to be better after the London Games."

She pointed out the demolition of the Celio de Barros track next to Maracana stadium as one casualty of World Cup preps.

"Now the situation is difficult. A track should have been built before," she said.

…Briefs

…London 2012 opening ceremony director Danny Boyle says Queen Elizabeth II volunteered to perform in the ceremony. The skit featured her majesty—and her two corgis—with Daniel Craig as 007. In an interview to be aired on Thursday with ITV’s Jonathon Ross, Boyle recalled when he sought permission to shoot the film, the Queen asked if she could have a line. "O.K., what do you suggest?" he asked. "She said ‘I’ll do something’ and we started shooting and she turned round and she said her lines beautifully." Her Majesty’s lines were: "Good evening, Mr. Bond."

…The Bahamas Olympic Committee set the date of its elections for April 12. No venue was set for the election. Nominees for all positions are due by 5:00 PM on April 5. Wellington Miller is the current President.

...The Norwegian Embassy in Jordan signed on as partner of the Generations for Peace 2013 International Amman Camp. The camp is scheduled for Oct. 19-28 and will train young citizens of the Middle East and North Africa to become Generations for Peace delegates. A statement from the organization said: "Generations For Peace and the Norwegian Government share an understanding of violent conflict as a barrier to development, whose complexity demands an adaptive approach."

Written by Matthew Grayson and Ed Hula III.

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