Poland’s leading duo Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel have already begun their preparations for the continuation of the 2015-16 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour next year and the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.

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Fijalek and Prudel decorated themselves with bronze at Stavanger Major; Photo credit: Joerg Mitter

The pair have been training with coach Martin Olejnaka at the indoor facility in Olsztyn that features heated sand, something of a blessed relief for the players when the temperature outside is hovering just above zero degrees.

“We are pleased with the sand and working conditions that we found here,” Prudel said. “We aren’t yet fully in our rhythm, but that is normal. We’ve had a long season.”

The pair haven’t played since the Olsztyn Grand Slam at the end of August where they finished enjoyed a ninth-place finish. Their best result of the season came at the Stavanger Swatch Major Series event where they won bronze. The 2015-16 season has already begun with Opens in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Antalya, Turkey and Doha, Qatar. It will restart in late January with the Vitoria Open in Brazil and continue through until the World Tour Finals which run from October 25-30.

Award ceremony at Stavanger Major: 2nd Polish Kantor/Losiak, 1st Brazilian Pedro Solberg/Evandro and 3rd Polish Fijalek/prudel (from left); Photo credit: Samo Vidic

Rio 2016 takes place from August 5-21, with the beach volleyball competition running from August 6-18 on the iconic Copacabana Beach.

Fijalek and Prudel are currently 14th on the FIVB Olympic Rankings, from which 17 teams will qualify for Rio and if they do make it to Copacabana, it will be their second Olympic Games after London 2012 where they reached the quarter-finals.

 “In Olsztyn we will work on defensive technique and our reception which determines how well we attack. We will also work on the variety of our serves and work hard on our strength and conditioning.

“The facilities in Olsztyn will provide us with an excellent training base that players in Poland have not previously enjoyed.”