Qualification process for Para rowing at Tokyo 2020 completed

The qualification process for Para rowing at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as been completed, with four crews landing their tickets via the bipartite process.

Canada and Uzbekistan will have boats to race in the PR2 Mix2x event, while Spain and Japan will send a crew in the PR3 Mix4+ event. 

The selections were based on a full and detailed evaluation of the submitted requests by the International Paralympic Committee and the World Rowing Executive Committee, who made the four selections. These decisions have been announced to the relevant Member Federations; the National Paralympic Committees have until 12 July to confirm these selections for participation at the Games.

The Bipartite Commission Invitation process is the following:

As in previous Paralympic Games, the IPC has worked with the IFs to develop qualification methods which allow the top athletes in each sport to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, but which also respect the Paralympic Games Guiding Principles. The principles of excellence, diversity, universality, integrity and sustainability are fundamental and leading aspects in the objective of the IPC and each IF to deliver great competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

While the primary method in which the Paralympic Games Guiding Principles are respected is through the standard qualification methods, the IPC and certain IFs have also sought to provide targeted qualification slot allocations through Bipartite Commission Invitations. Bipartite Commission Invitations are included in the overall athlete quotas of the relevant sports, are granted by the IPC in its sole discretion following engagement with the respective IF, and are typically allocated based on the following principles: 

• to ensure participation of top athletes who may have not had the opportunity to formally qualify through other methods due to extraordinary circumstances; 

• to ensure the representation of athletes with high support needs; 

• to ensure medal events will have sufficient representation for viability; and/or 

• to enable greater representation by gender.

As the host country, Japan, qualified a boat through the continental qualification regatta, these “host country” quota slots then transferred to the Bipartite Commission for attribution. Subsequently, the Bipartite Commission had the duty to attribute two PR2Mix2x crews and two PR3Mix4+ crews. Requests for consideration for the Bipartite Commission were received by the deadline of 18 June 2021.