The sand is being poured into the brand new, momentary stadium in Shiokaze Park, which implies the competitors is warming up because the seashore volleyball athletes are getting ready to play within the largest event of the 12 months: the 2020 Olympic Video games in Tokyo.
With gamers coming from all world wide, they’ve a variety of expertise coming with them as properly. There are some younger, new gamers who’re of their first Olympics in addition to veteran gamers coming again for an opportunity to win one other gold medal.
So who do you have to be watching this 12 months? In case you can’t watch everybody, then these athletes are some nice seashore volleyball gamers to observe on the upcoming Olympic Video games.
Debut seashore volleyball gamers searching for success of their first Olympics
Ladies
Alix Klineman
USA
Alix Klineman will not be new to skilled volleyball after taking part in indoor on the USA ladies’s nationwide workforce for seven years, but she simply began professionally taking part in seashore in 2017. On the finish of the 12 months, she joined forces with April Ross, they usually went on to win 4 event occasions within the 2018 AVP Professional Seaside Volleyball Tour. Regardless that we received’t get to see Kerri Walsh Jennings play on this 12 months’s Olympics, we will nonetheless watch some nice USA volleyball with Klineman up on the block.
Duda Santos Lisboa
Brazil
Duda Santos Lisboa is a good seashore participant, profitable 4 World Tour occasions, a gold medal on the 2014 Summer season Youth Olympic Video games and being named FIVB Prime Rookie in 2016. This will probably be her first Olympic Video games on the grownup stage, so will probably be thrilling to see her put her expertise to good work in opposition to a number of the greatest on the planet.
Males
Oleg Stoyanovskiy
Russia
Oleg Stoyanovskiy is just 24 years previous, however has some awards that even veteran gamers haven’t received but like gold medals on the FIVB Seaside Volleyball World Championship in Hamburg and the World Tour Finals in Rome. In 2019, he grew to become the youngest world champion at age 22 after profitable the event along with his companion, Viacheslav Krasilnikov, who he’s taking part in with on the upcoming Olympic Video games. These two are going to be a robust pair to beat because the competitors begins on the finish of July.
Anders Mol
Norway
Anders Mol is one half of the Norwegian duo that’s taking the seashore world by storm. Mol and his companion, Christian Sørum, are making waves because the No. 1 ranked males’s seashore volleyball workforce in keeping with FIVB rankings. They grew to become the primary males’s seashore volleyball workforce from Norway to earn a European Championship title. He completed the 2018/19 with 4 FIVB awards: Greatest Blocker, Greatest Setter, Greatest Attacker and Most Excellent Participant. Mol had a hip damage in 2020, however now he’s again and higher than ever.
Veteran seashore volleyball gamers coming again to the Olympic Video games
Ladies
Sarah Pavan
Canada
Sarah Pavan is a seashore participant from Canada with an extended historical past in volleyball, beginning her profession in indoor taking part in for the Canada ladies’s nationwide volleyball workforce and shifting to seashore in 2013. Pavan additionally performed indoor in faculty for the College of Nebraska-Lincoln Huskers within the USA, the place they received the NCAA Division I ladies’s volleyball event in 2006. At 1.98m tall, Pavan dominates on the web. She made it to the quarterfinals within the 2016 Olympics, falling to Ludwig and Walkenhorst from Germany, who went on to win the gold medal that 12 months. She’s hoping to return again this 12 months along with her companion, Melissa Humana-Paredes, and with the No. 1 spot within the FIVB world rankings, they’ve a very good probability to get on that podium.
Agatha Bednarczuk
Brazil
Agatha Bednarczuk is a pressure on the sand with the document to show it. She earned a gold medal within the 2015 World Championships in addition to a silver medal within the 2016 Olympic Video games after beating the USA workforce of Kerri Walsh-Jennings and April Ross to get into the ultimate match. Regardless that Bednarczuk and her teammate this 12 months, Lisboa, have a 16-year age hole between them, their chemistry hasn’t faltered. Bednarczuk brings her years of expertise to every match and it has helped her and Lisboa transfer into the No. 3 spot within the FIVB world rankings. Look out for this Brazilian duo as they take to the sand in Tokyo.
Males
Phil Dalhausser
USA
Phil Dalhausser is without doubt one of the older males within the seashore competitors at 41 years previous, however age has not slowed him down. The truth is, this USA athlete is sort of a good pink wine; he solely will get higher with age. He has over 100 profession wins and 6 gold medals in his repertoire, together with one on the 2007 World Championship and one on the 2008 Olympics. Dalhausser and his companion, Nick Lucena, made it to the quarterfinals within the 2016 Olympic Video games, falling to the Brazilian duo, Cerutti and Schmidt, who went on to win gold that 12 months. However Dalhausser is wanting higher than ever, so he’s one to observe in Tokyo this 12 months.
Alison Cerutti
Brazil
Alison Cerutti received the gold medal on the 2016 Olympic Video games in his dwelling nation of Brazil, in addition to a silver medal within the 2012 Olympics. He’s seeking to come again and add one other gold medal to his assortment along with his new companion this 12 months, Álvaro Morais Filho. Cerutti is a monster on the web along with his sheer peak and dimension, so if he and Filho can join, then Cerutti will probably be a fierce opponent once more this 12 months.
Who’s your favourite seashore duo heading to the Olympics this 12 months? What gamers are you excited to see play?