As if your day couldn’t get any better we’ve got these facts for you!
“No way!” – Italians Lupo/Nicolai are the only previous Fuzhou Open gold medalists to lose a match on their way to the title. Photo credit: Andrea Langreiter.
Wakey, wakey rise and shine! It’s time for the most important post of the week!
During every tournament our resident stats geek hides away in a dark corner of the Swatch Major Series office and plummets to the depths of the beach volleyball database to bring you weird and wonderful facts about the competition. Don’t worry, he has seen daylight before!
This week the Fuzhou Open gets the ‘inner geek’ treatment…enjoy!
- Did you know the lowest ranked teams to have won gold at Fuzhou were both 13th seeds? Last year’s women’s winners Broder/Valjas (CAN) were
13th seeds, as were 2015 men’s champions Böckermann/Flüggen (GER)
- This year’s women’s number one seeds Ross/Walsh Jennings (USA) have won medals at the past two tournaments – bronze last year and gold in 2014
- Ross/Walsh Jennings are the most successful women’s partnership, accumulating a total of 900 ranking points from just two tournaments
- Only one top seed has ever won the tournament – home favorites Xue/Chang (CHN) in the 2013 women’s competition
- The Chinese pair are also the only previous gold medalists not to drop a single set on their way to gold
- No men’s team have won more ranking points in the history of the tournament than Italian pair Lupo/Nicolai (950 points, one gold, one silver)
- Lupo/Nicolai are the only previous champions to have lost a match on their way to gold, losing one pool game in 2014
- Only two teams of qualifiers have won a medal at Fuzhou. Huber/Seidl (AUT) picked up bronze in the men’s tournament in 2013, while
Antonelli/Felisberta (BRA) won silver in the women’s event in 2014
- Germany and USA have won more medals than any other country at the Fuzhou Open – three each. They are two of 11 nations to have won medals
It’s our aim to educate as well as excite here at Swatch Majors and we trust you loved learning about another stop on the tour.
Stay tuned next week for more boring fascinating facts from the tour’s next stop at Fortaleza in Brazil and don’t forget to pass on your beach volleyball knowledge to your friends!
Until next time!
