After joining forces for the Fort Lauderdale Major and claiming silver, Taiana and Carol Horta will stick together for the rest of the season

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Taiana and Carol Horta will be together in the World Tour tournament in China in April

Taiana Lima and Carol Horta initially planned to only join forces for the 2018 Fort Lauderdale Major, but how could the Brazilians resist to such an amazing campaign in the tournament, which saw them start in the country-quota and climb on to the podium with the silver medal around their necks?

Yes, after the successful week in the first Beach Major Series event of the year, which saw they win eight out of ten matches, Taiana and Carol decided to stay together for the rest of the 2018 season!

They will compete next early April in the Brazilian Tour event in Aracaju before they hit the sand again the World Tour later next month in the four-star tournament in Xiamen, China.

“We didn’t plan for that, it just happened,” said Taiana, who is splitting with former Elize Maia, who got injured earlier this season. “Things weren’t working between Elize and I, we tried to fix it, but it wasn’t enough. The plan was to play with Carol only in Fort Lauderdale, but we did so well and got enough points to start the next tournament in the main draw, so we decided to give it a shot.”

Brazil are in the #FTLMajor women's gold medal match! 🇧🇷 #FTLMajor #hellosunny 📸 @portablepast_malte_cc

1,147 Likes, 11 Comments - Beach Volleyball Major Series (@beachmajorseries) on Instagram: "Brazil are in the #FTLMajor women's gold medal match! 🇧🇷 #FTLMajor #hellosunny 📸..."

A World Tour champion in 2013, when she was elected the Sportsperson of the year, the 33-year-old Taiana has 13 season of international experience under her belt, having won 16 medals so far. Carol, 25, has played in only 18 World Tour tournaments, with two medals won.

“She showed a great potential and a huge willingness to listen in Fort Lauderdale,”Taiana added. “I think this mix will be very benefitial for our team. Everything has happened so fast and we are still setting our objectives, but I would say that our first goal is to take advantage of the good momentum we have now.”

The team will be coached by Marcelo ‘Big’ Carvalhaes, who will have Ricardo Moacir and Rodrigo Porto on his staff. Both athletes are from Fortaleza, but Taiana currently lives in Rio, where she trains in the Brazilian Olympic Committee’s gym. They will likely spit their time training in both cities.

Remember you can re-watch Carol and Taiana's performance in Florida on BeachStream's on demand section. Click here!