FC Barcelona at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
The Olympic Games get going in Tokyo from July 23 to August 8, and as well as cheering on the athletes from their own countries, Barça fans will also be able to follow the 34 different sportsmen and women from FC Barcelona that will be attending the games in five different sports.
Here’s a guide to when and where they are in action.
ATHLETICS | BASKETBALL | HANDBALL | FIELD HOCKEY | FOOTBALL
Medal hopes in track and field
Seven women and four men are competing in seven different track and field events.
Yulimar Rojas (women’s triple jump) is the club’s biggest medal prospect. The Venezuelan won silver at Rio 2016 and last year broke the world indoor record with a jump of 15.43m. Coached by the great Ivan Pedrosa, the four-time world champion was named World Athlete of the Year in 2020.
Her Brazilian club-mate Núbia Soares (women’s triple jump) is 25, but is already competing in her second games, and will be aiming to join Rojas in the final.
Nelson Évora (men’s triple jump) is another medal hope. Competing for Portugal, he won gold at Beijing 2008 and his silver at the 2009 European Championship shows he still has it in him, although he is just coming back from injury.
Sebastián Martos (3,000 m steeplechase), Pablo Sánchez-Valladares (800 m) and Adrián Ben (800 m) are our men on the track. All are competing for Spain, and Ben, who finished sixth at the last world championships in Doha is perhaps the one with the best prospects.
The women on the track are Jaël-Sakura Bestué (200 m), Aauri Lorena Bokesa (400 m and possibly 4x400 m relay), Carolina Robles (3,000 m steeplechase) and Raquel González (20 km walk), all competing for Spain.
The club’s sole representative in the throwing events is Laura Redondo (hammer).
Barça’s athletics schedule
Hope in the hoops
Basketball is one of the sports where Barça has always been well-represented, and although the USA is the hot favourite as usual, they are no longer regarded as unbeatable. Spain, with Pau Gasol and Àlex Abrines, have medalled at the last three Games, silver in Beijing and London, and bronze in Rio.
Meanwhile, Leandro Bolmaro will be featuring for an Argentina team that is always a strong outside bet for a medal, and the current team is a promising blend of youth and experience. They’ll be starting in the same Group C as Spain.
Barça’s basketball schedule
The group also includes Japan and Slovenia, with games on 26/7, 29/7 and 1/8. The top two teams from each group plus the two best third-placed teams advance to the quarter finals (August 3). The semis are on the 5th and the final is on the 7th.
Record representation in handball
FC Barcelona is sending more handball players than any other club to Tokyo, and also the most players it has ever had at the games, no fewer than 13.
Two of the hottest favourites, Spain (Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, Raúl EntrerRios, Aleix Gómez, Ángel Fernández) and France (Ludovic Fàbregas, Dika Mem, Timothey N’Guessan, Melvyn Richardson), have four Barça players each in their squads.
But there are also two playing for Brazil (Thiagus Petrus and Haniel Langaro) and one each with Argentina (Leonel Maciel), Portugal (Luis Frade) and Egypt (Ali Zein).
In fact the only Barça players who are NOT going to Tokyo are the injured Aitor Ariño (Spain), as well as Luka Cindric (Croatia) and Domen Makuc and Blaz Janc (Slovenia), whose teams failed to qualify.
Barça’s handball schedule
It all starts with two groups of 6: Group A with Brazil, Norway, France, Spain, Argentina and Germany, and Group B with Egypt, Portugal, Denmark, Japan, Sweden and Bahrain.
Group play is from July 24 to August 1, followed by the quarters (August 3), semis (5) and final (7).
Miki Delàs for the third time
Barça will be represented in field hockey by Miki Delàs, where his experience will be valued in a very young Spanish team. He has helped the team to fifth and sixth in his previous games, and a medal is a big ask in Tokyo, but by no means impossible.
Barça’s field hockey schedule
Spain start group play on July 24 against Argentina, and go on to face New Zealand (25/7), India (27/7), Japan (28/7) and Australia (30/7).
The quarters are on August 1, semis on the 3rd and the final on the 5th.
And football too!
FC Barcelona has six footballers going to the games. There are three men, Pedri, Òscar Mingueza and Èric Garcia (Spain), and three women, Lieke Martens (Netherlands), Fridolina Rölfö (Sweden) and Giovana Queiroz (Brazil)
After missing Rio 2016, Spain is sending a very strong team indeed, while Holland reached the Women’s World Cup Final and Sweden were runners-up in the last Olympics.
Barça’s football schedule.
Spain’s men are in Group C with Egypt (22/07), Australia (25/07) and Argentina (28/7). The quarter finals are on July 31, the semis on August 3 and the final on August 7.
Women’s football starts a day earlier. Holland are sharing a group with Zambia (21/07), Brazil (24/07) and China (27/7), while Sweden are joined by the USA (21/07), Australia (24/07) and New Zealand (27/07). The women’s knockout games will all be played the day before the men.