2016-03-14 17:20:00 CEST
Sand is still warm in Rio as players prepare for Vitória Open
World-class serving at FIVB World Tour Finals in Fort Lauderdale last year. Photo Credit: Joerg Mitter for Limex Images
The Rio Grand Slam drew to a surprising close yesterday, with new winners on the scene and on the podium.
Losiak/Kantor, male team from Poland took gold and shocked everyone. In addition to winning their first Grand Slam, the pair played a flawless game by winning every single match they competed in at the event including the final; which evidently was a nostalgic rematch of the Stavanger Major – only this time they came out on top.
US legends Walsh/Ross also astounded by impressively beating all who dared to challenge them. This is an amazing comeback for the pair whose season was dramatically cut short due to injury the latter part of last year.
Reigning FIVB World Champions: Alison/Bruno Schmidt and Larissa/Talita saw a rather premature elimination at the Rio Grand Slam, but players have no time to mourn over Grand Slams they could have won and knock-outs they could have avoided as all attention draws to the upcoming Vitória Open starting tomorrow in Brazil.
The Open will be held from 15-20 March, and there will be no need to get the passports out as many athletes opt to stay in Brazil and aim to take gold and of course, gather some of the all-important Olympic Qualifying points.
The Vitória Open presents teams with yet another opportunity to compete and practice in the country where the Olympics will be held later this year (Summer Olympics will be held from 5-21 August in Rio at Copacabana beach) and vie for one of the highly prized Olympic spots in order to represent their country at one of the most prestigious athletic events in the world.
World-class beach volleyball can be expected as big names competing in the Vitória Open include: Alison/Bruno Schmidt (Brazil); Ranghieri/Carambula (Italy) and Brouwer/Meeuwsen (Netherlands); and for the ladies, big names include: Larissa/Talita (Brazil); Bawden/Clancy (Australia); Kessy/Day (USA) and Elsa/Liliana (Spain). The US beach boys Dalhausser/Lucena, who were medal favorites, withdrew from there participation at the Vitoria Open. No reason was stated, yet. But please stay tuned for updates (here or on Facebook).
For full list of competitors, click here: Men | Women
Brazilian Maceio Open winners: Eduarda “Duda” Lisboa and Elize Maia will be participating in the Vitória Open and we are hoping that they bring the fire.