Lausanne, Switzerland, May 31, 2020 - During a seven-day period where 27 FIVB gold medals were awarded, including to Eduarda 'Duda' Lisboa and Agatha Bednarczuk of Brazil in Ostrava, the May 31-June 6 period also notes a 50th birthday this Thursday for Sergey Ermishin, one of the first Russians to reach an FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour beach volleyball podium.
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Ermishin is one of three beach volleyball Olympians celebrating a birthday this week along with Poland’s Kinga Kolosinska Wojtasik on Tuesday (30) and American Rob Heidger on Wednesday (51). Sunday also marks the 44th birthday of Imornefe Bowes, a German national team coach and husband of Olympic and world champion Laura Ludwig.
A towering force at the net, the 2.08 m Ermishin teamed with Mikhail Kouchnerev to capture a bronze medal at the FIVB World Tour event on June 25, 2000 in the Canary Islands. It was Russia’s first ever men’s or women’s World Tour podium placement with the next coming in 2007 by Dmitri Barsouk and Igor Kolodinsky.
A ninth place finisher with Kouchnerev at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games where the Russians split a pair of matches, Ermishin competed in 43 World Tour events with the Canary Island finish his best as he and Kouchnerev also placed fourth at a 2001 FIVB stop in Mallorca.
Sergey Ermishin of Russia
Kolosinska Wojtasik and Monika Brzostek placed ninth at the Rio 2016 Olympics as the Polish pair teamed to win the 2009 Under-21 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships before becoming their country’s first ever women’s team to place on a World Tour podium in August 2015 with a bronze medal on home sand in Olsztyn. The next March on Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, the pair placed second in a prelude event prior to the 2016 Summer Games.
Monika Brzostek (left) and Kinga Kolosinska Wojtasik of Poland
Heidger placed fifth at the Sydney 2000 Summer Games with Kevin Wong before advancing to the final 4 with Chip McCaw at the 2001 FIVB World Championships in Klagenfurt where the Americans placed fourth after eliminating reigning Olympic champions and compatriots Dain Blanton and Eric Fonoimoana in the quarterfinals.
With 38 World Tour appearances, Heidger competed in 25 FIVB events with Wong as the pair posted a bronze medal finish in their first international tournament together at a June 1999 stop in Toronto where the duo defeated American rivals Adam Johnson and Karch Kiraly in a 1 hour, 45-minute third-place match.
Rob Heidger (right) of the United States blocking at the 2001 FIVB World Championships in Austria
During the May 31-June 6 period, Brazilian pairs captured 10 World Tour gold medals, including two each by the legendary duos Emanuel Rego/Ricardo Santos, Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar and Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca. Talita also picked up a third win this week in history with Maria Antonelli.
Here is a recap of FIVB gold medal winners during the May 31-June 6 timeframe.
May 31
• In 2008, Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs of the United States won the Barcelona Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
• In 2009, Maria Antonelli and Talita Antunes of Brazil won the Seoul Open. It was the second of eight FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2009, Alison Cerutti and Harley Marques of Brazil won the Myslowice Open. It was the second of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2014, Victoria Bieneck and Julia Grossner won the Anapa Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
• In 2015, Adrian Gavira and Pablo Herrera of Spain won the FIVB Moscow Grand Slam. It was the first of three FIVB World wins for the team.
• In 2015, Talita and Larissa Franca of Brazil won the Moscow Grand Slam. It was the fifth of 16 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
Moscow 2015 podium (left to right) featured Adriana Gavira, Larissa Franca, Talita Antunes and Pablo Herrera
June 1
• In 2008, Julius Brink and Christoph Dieckmann of Germany won the Barcelona Open. It was the third of three FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2014, Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Solovejs of Latvia won the Anapa Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
June 2
• In 1996, Martin Conde and Eduardo Martinez of Argentina won the Alanya Open. It was the first of three FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2019, Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway won the Ostrava Open. It was the seventh of 10 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2019, Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda "Duda" Lisboa of Brazil won the Ostrava Open. It was the fourth of five FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2019, Jingzhe Wang and Shuhui Wen of China won the Nantong Open. It was the second of five FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
2019 Ostrava podium with Brazilian, Czech, Dutch, Norwegian and Polish players
June 3
• In 2007, Natalie Cook and Tamsin Hinchley of Australia won the Seoul Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
• In 2012, Henriette Iatika and Miller Pata of Vanuatu won the Seoul Challenger. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
• In 2018, Trevor Crabb and John Mayer of the United States won the Jinjiang Open. It was the second of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2018, Suzuka Hashimoto and Sayaka Mizoe of Japan won the Jinjiang Open. It was the second of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2018, Ruslan Bykanov and Maksim Hudyakov of Russia won the Alanya Open. It was the first of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2018, Sarah Schneider and Viktoria Seeber of Germany won the Alanya Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
June 4
• In 2000, Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar of Brazil won the Rosarito Open. It was the 18th of 31 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2000, Dax Holdren and Todd Rogers of the United States won the Rosarito Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
• In 2006, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings of the United States won the Athens Open. It was the 24th of 44 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2006, Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil won the FIVB VIP Open. It was the 19th of 33 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2017, Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena of the United States won the Moscow Open. It was the sixth of nine FIVB World Tour wins for team.
• In 2017, Talita and Larissa won the Moscow Open. It was the 15th of 16 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
2017 Moscow podium with American, Brazilian and Russian players
June 5
• None
June 6
• In 2004, Shelda and Adriana won the Osaka Open. It was the 29th of 31 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2004, Emanuel and Ricardo won the Espinho Open. It was the eighth of 33 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2015, Talita and Larissa won the Porec Major. It was the sixth of 16 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
2004 Osaka women's podium with Aussies, Brazilians and Swiss players