Brazil reign supreme in South America and earn Olympic spot

Brazil dominated their regional rivals and joined Canada, Egypt, Thailand and Türkiye among the women's volleyball national teams that qualified for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics via the continental pathway.

The team coached by the legendary José 'Zé Roberto' Guimarães hosted this year's South American Championship and counted on the support of their home fans in Rio de Janeiro to fully dominate their opponents on their way to winning gold and claiming the Olympic ticket.

Brazil won their 16th-straight and 24th-overall continental title in remarkable fashion, winning all five matches they played at the iconic Maracanãzinho stadium between Tuesday and Sunday in straight sets.

Their qualification for Los Angeles 2028 was sealed on Sunday, when they were led by team captain Gabriela 'Gabi' Guimarães, who returned to action after missing the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) and scored a team-high 13 points (ten kills, two aces, one block) in their 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-16) win over Argentina, who also made it to the last day undefeated and were in contention for the Olympic spot.

Also standing out in Brazil's Sunday victory were outside hitter Julia Bergmann, who delivered 12 points (11 kills, one block) off the bench, and opposite Tainara Santos, who replaced the injured Rosamaria Montibeller and contributed another 11 (ten kills, one block), including the game-winner.

The match's top scorer was Argentine opposite Bianca Cugno, who tallied 16 points, with 15 kills and one block - she was also the tournament's top scorer with 113 points.

With two wins and three losses, Colombia amassed seven points and finished third, joining Brazil and Argentina as the South American national teams qualified for the 2027 FIVB Volleyball World Cup.

Gabi was recognized as the South American Championship Most Valuable Player, while setter Roberta Ratzke (Brazil), opposite Cugno (Argentina), outside hitters Ana Karina Olaya (Colombia) and Ana Cristina Souza (Brazil), middle blockers Candelaria Herrera (Argentina) and Alejandra Agüello (Venezuela) and libero María Agostina Pelozo (Argentina) were picked for the tournament's Dream Team.

With the conclusion of the South American Championship, half of the 12 spots at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics have been assigned - besides the five continental champions, hosts the United States are also qualified.

The six remaining spots will be evenly split between next year's World Cup and the FIVB World Ranking.

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