Venezuela claimed more than just a spot in the World Baseball Classic semifinals Saturday night. It also earned a spot in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic baseball tournament.
The Venezuelans will be joined in the LA 2028 tournament by the Dominican Republic, which officially clinched the other Americas berth when it beat Korea in the quarterfinals Friday. The Dominicans are 5-0 in the WBC.
The WBC doubled as the Olympic qualifying tournament for teams from the Americas. The top two overall finishers from the Americas (excluding Team USA, which receives an automatic berth as the host nation) earned spots in the six-team LA 2028 tournament at Dodger Stadium.
By defeating Japan, Venezuela ensured it would finish higher than Canada and Puerto Rico - the other two Americas teams that reached the quarterfinals - in the WBC standings. Canada held the head-to-head tiebreaker over Puerto Rico for the Olympic berth, but needed Japan to reach the semis in order to qualify over Venezuela.
This marks the first time that Venezuela has ever qualified for an Olympic baseball tournament. The Dominican Republic, meanwhile, will be making its third Olympic appearance, after finishing sixth in the 1992 Barcelona games and winning bronze at Tokyo 2020.
Although the International Olympic Committee dropped baseball and softball from the games after 2008, both sports are being brought back for LA 2028 as "optional" sports due to their popularity in the host nation. The IOC also reinstated baseball for the Tokyo games in a similar manner.
Countries from Europe, Asia, and Oceania will attempt to qualify for LA 2028 through a series of other tournaments over the next two years.
Only six teams total will qualify, and will be split into two groups of three for the tournament.
