The most successful tandem in the history of the FIVB World Tour, the Brazilian legends Ricardo Alex Costa Santos and Emanuel Rego, are going to play together again. The 39-year old Ricardo and the 41-year old Emanuel last played as a team back in 2009. Ten years after their golden 2004 Athens Olympic campaign, the two veterans, still participating in the Tour alongside Alvaro Filho and Pedro Salgado, respectively, are now practicing together with the domestic Rio 2016 Olympics ahead of them.
“August is a golden month for us,” joked Ricardo after their first training session back together on Wednesday morning (13 August) in Rio de Janeiro. “Getting back together with Emanuel in the month that holds such special memories for us makes me very happy. Expectations will be high because of our history together, but times have changed and we are going to experience the biggest challenge of our careers. We want to put on a good show for Brazil in the 2016 Olympic Games,” he said.
“Our training base will be in Rio de Janeiro so that we can feel the Olympic climate and atmosphere of the Games while we are preparing. Our experience will help us to tackle this in the best possible way and free of pressure. We have a winning history and expectation is high, but we will be taking things one step at a time from now until the Rio 2016 Games,” said Emanuel, holder of 152 beach volleyball titles, a world record. Emanuel is also the most decorated beach volleyball player of all time.
However, Ricardo and Emanuel are not the only glorious Brazilians that will club together at the end of this summer. With an eye on 2016, the 40-year old Marcio Araujo and the 35-year old Fabio Luiz Magalhaes are also going to compete as a team again. Marcio Araujo-Fabio won the 2005 World Championship in Berlin, as well as silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“We have a very successful on-court history and a great friendship off court, which is why I was very happy at the prospect of competing with Márcio again. We have already experienced the Olympic climate together and will be in hot pursuit of our dream to take part in the Rio 2016 Games. For any athlete taking part in the Olympic Games lights a flame inside and your objective is always to return to the Games. Despite the injuries I’ve sustained over the last few years, it has never ceased to be one of my aspirations,” said Fábio Luiz.
Ricardo-Emanuel will appear at the Stare Jablonki Grand Slam this week already, whereas Marcio Araujo-Fabio will refurbish their partnership in the opening stage of the Brazilian tour in Vitoria at the end of August.
A baseball player in the World Tour
At the age of 30 and with his 214 cm, the American Ryan Doherty is not only one of the physically most impressive players in the FIVB World Tour, but also one with a movie-like history. Doherty made his official international debut last year when he and legendary partner Todd Rogers participated in the 2013 World Tour. This summer Doherty has a new partner, Nicholas Lucena, and already won his first medals – silver at the Berlin Grand Slam and bronze at the Gstaad Grand Slam. However, the route to professional beach volleyball and fame was long and sudden.
At 25 years old, Ryan Doherty had spontaneously decided he was going to pack everything he owned into his car and drive to Huntington Beach, California, to pursue a professional beach volleyball career. He had 5000 dollars left to his name, no job lined up in California, nowhere to stay, and a failed professional baseball career in his rearview mirror.
“My story could’ve ended much differently with me being broke and heading back to New Jersey, but if that happened, at least I would’ve known I went for it,” Doherty said. “I believe if you pursue your passion as if it’s your last breath of air, you won’t look back and regret it.”
Doherty rented an apartment in Costa Mesa, California, and found work delivering pizza and also giving pitching lessons in Huntington Beach. Every morning he would go hang out by the volleyball courts near the south side of the pier in Huntington, where professionals routinely gather for high-level games. He would practice his serve or do drills on his own on the side, immediately catching the eyes of the pros with his height. His stature also gained him the nickname “Avatar” for his towering presence like the blue Na’vi characters from the movie.
“Guys would always need another person for a game because somebody didn’t show up,” Doherty said. “They would all beat up on the new, tall guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing. The 214-cm thing definitely helps because there is a shortage of blockers in the volleyball community, so being the tall guy helped me get some games early.”
Doherty’s dedication began to win over the veterans who had seen a lot of dreamers come and go over the years. Every morning he was out there, working on serving and passing.
“I would get down there at 7:30 in the morning to go grab a court and (Doherty) would be on his 10th rack of jump serves,” said Huntington Beach-based professional Ryan Mariano. “He was borrowing balls from anyone he could because he was dead broke, and riding a bike around trying to deliver pizzas just so he could play volleyball. That earned a lot of respect with us.”
Full story available at thepostgame.com
