Lausanne, Switzerland August 9, 2012 - Eight years ago today, Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann broke the dominance of American and Brazilian teams on the Olympic beach volleyball podium by defeating Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego for the top spot on the London 2012 Summer Games podium.
The United States had captured six of the first nine men’s and women’s Olympic gold medals with Brazilians securing two before Brink and Reckermann posted a 2-1 (23-21, 16-21, 16-14) win in the 61-minute London finale as the Germans snapped a four-match losing streak to their South American rivals.
"It's unbelievable,” Reckermann was quoted as saying after playing in his last FIVB match. “They have been the best team for the last few years and Emanuel is a living legend, but we knew we had a chance."
Germany's Jonas Reckermann after winning London 2012 gold
Four years later in Rio, Germany collected its second Olympic gold when Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst defeated Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas of Brazil in the August 17 finale on Copacabana. Overall, Americans have claimed six of the 12 Olympic gold medals with Brazilians winning three, Germans two and Australians one.
The London Olympic finale highlighted the August 9-15 period in World Tour history as Emanuel captured five FIVB titles this week starting with an August 9, 1998 win with Jose Loiola in Espinho, Portugal. On August 11, 1996, Emanuel and ZeMarco de Melo topped a World Tour podium in Pornichet, France.
Playing with Tande Ramos, Emanuel won the 2001 Ostende Open in Belgium on August 12 with another gold medal six years later on the date with Ricardo Santos in Kristiansand, Norway. On August 13, Emanuel teamed with Loiola (2000) and Ricardo (2007) to win titles in Ostende and Stare Jablonki, Poland, respectively
Tande Ramos (right) of Brazil
This week’s FIVB period also featured Age-Category World Championships in 2003 at Saint Quay Portrieux, France. Brazilians Pedro Cunha and Pedro Solberg won the FIVB Under-21 World Championships for men while Alexandra Moiseeva and Anna Morozova of Russia captured the women’s crown on August 10.
Olympic medal winners Mark Heese of Canada and Kerri Walsh Jennings of the United States celebrate birthdays on Saturday (August 15). Heese, who will turn 51, competed in three quadrennials with John Child as the Canadians captured the bronze medal at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Games before placing fifth at both the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics.
1996 Olympic bronze medal winner Mark Heese
A member of the American volleyball team at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Walsh Jennings topped the Summer Games’ podiums at the Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 with Misty May-Treanor. The 2012 gold medal was earned a day before Brink and Reckermann’s “unbelievable” Olympic crown in London.
In turning 42 on Saturday, Walsh Jennings is still pursuing a sixth Olympic berth with Brooke Sweat. A bronze medal winner with April Ross at the Rio 2016 Olympics, Walsh Jennings and Sweat are currently listed as the second American women’s team on the Tokyo Summer Games provisional ranking list.
Other Olympians celebrating birthdays this week are Glenn Hamilton (54 Thursday) of New Zealand and Michal Palinek (53 Monday) of the Czech Republic. Hamilton placed 17th with his brother Reid at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. Palinek and Marek Pakosta placed 13th at Atlanta after being eliminated by Heese and Child. At the Sydney Olympics Palinek and Martin Lebl placed 17th.
Michal Palinek of the Czech Republic
Here is a list of gold medal winners during the August 9-15 time frame as a total of 50 tournaments were staged featuring 36 FIVB World Tour events. A total of 15 countries won gold medals with Brazilian pairs combined to win 26 titles.
August 9
In 1998, Loiola and Emanuel won the Espinho Grand Slam. It was the second of 15 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 1998, Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar of Brazil won the Osaka Open. It was the eighth of 31 FIVB World wins for the team.
In 2008, Lauren Fendrick and Ashley Ivy Swift of the United States won the Vaduz Satellite. It was the first of two FIVB wins for the team.
In 2009, Benjamin Insfran and Solberg won the Stare Jablonki Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win of the team.
In 2012, Brink and Reckermann won the London 2012 Olympic Games. It was the fifth and final FIVB World Tour win for the team.
2009 television interview for Brazil's Pedro Salgado (centre) and partner Benjamin Insfran (right).
August 10
In 2003, Ana Paula Henkel and Sandra Pires of Brazil won the Osaka Open. It was the fourth of five FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2003, Cunha and Solberg won the FIVB Under-21 World Championships in Saint Quay Portrieux, France. It was the only FIVB win for the team.
In 2003, Moiseeva and Morozova won the FIVB Under-21 World Championships in Saint Quay Portrieux, France. It was the only FIVB win for the team.
In 2006, Annie Martin and Katherine Zakrzewski of Canada won the Eboli Satellite. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2008, David and Robert Kufa of the Czech Republic won the Vaduz Satellite. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2013, Vitor Felipe and Evandro Goncalves of Brazil won the Berlin Grand Slam. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
Celebrating Brazilians at Berlin 2013 with Evandro Goncalves (third from left) and Vitor Felipe (fourth from left)
August 11
In 1990, Leif Hanson and Eric Wurts won the Enoshima Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 1991, Jean-Philippe Jodard and Christian Penigaud of France won the Almeria Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 1996, Ze Marco and Emanuel won the Pornichet Open. It was the seventh of 15 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 1996, Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst of Australia won the Osaka Open. It was the first of three FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 1996, Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva of Brazil won the Espinho Open. It was the ninth of 12 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2002, Shelda and Adriana won the Osaka Open. It was the 27th of 31 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2002, Martin and Paul Laciga of Switzerland won the Cadiz Open. It was the third of five FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2007, Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca of Brazil won the Kristiansand Open. It was the 17th of 45 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2007, Maria Antonelli and Vanilda Leao of Brazil won the Vaduz Satellite. It was the second of three FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2013, Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima of Brazil won the Berlin Grand Slam. It was the fifth and final FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2018, Lara Dykstra and Allie Wheeler of the United States won the Vaduz One Star. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2019, Rafael and Renato Lima of Brazil won the Miguel Pereira Open. It was the second of two FIVB wins for the team.
In 2019, Andressa Cavalcanti and Diana Silva of Brazil won the Miguel Pereira Open. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2019, Moritz Kindl and Mathias Seiser of Austria won the Vaduz Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 2019, Emma Piersma and Pleun Ypma of The Netherlands won the Vaduz Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 2019, Samuele Cottafava and Jakob Windisch of Italy won the Budapest Open. It was the first of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2019, Yurika Sakaguchi and Chiyo Suzuki of Japan won the Budapest Open. It was the first of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
2019 Budapest podium with teams from Italy, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway and Russia
August 12
In 2001, Shelda and Adriana won the Osaka Open. It was the 23rd of 31 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2001, Tande and Emanuel won the Ostende Open. It was the third of six FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2007, Emanuel and Ricardo won the Kristiansand Open. It was the 28th of 33 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2007, Patrick Heuscher and Sascha Heyer of Switzerland won the Vaduz Challenger. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2018, Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins of Latvia won the Moscow Open. It was the 11th of 13 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2018, Sara Hughes and Summer Ross of the United States won the Moscow Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 2018, Taras Myskiv and Valeriy Samoday of Russia won the Vaduz Open. It was the second of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
August 13
In 1995, Roberto Lopes and Franco Neto of Brazil won the Espinho Open. It was the eighth of 13 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2000, Loiola and Emanuel won the FIVB Ostende Open. It was the 15th and final FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2000, Liz Masakayan and Elaine Youngs of the United States won the Dalian Open. It was the third and final FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 2005, Simone Kuhn and Lea Schwer of Switzerland won the Lausanne Satellite. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2006, Emanuel and Ricardo won the Stare Jablonki Open. It was the 23rd of 33 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2006, Lula Barbosa and Adriano Garrido of Brazil won the Lausanne Satellite. It was the second of two FIVB wins for the team.
In 2006, Juliana Antunes and Sandra Castro of Portugal won the Getxo Satellite. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
Sandra Castro (left) and Juliana Antunes capture a gold medal for Portugal in Getxo, Spain
August 14
In 2005, Heuscher and Stefan Kobel of Switzerland won the Lausanne Satellite. It was the sixth of eight FIVB wins for the team.
In 2010, Juliana and Larissa won the Kristiansand Open. It was the 36th of 45 FIVB World wins for the team.
In 2011, Angela Lavalle and Liliane Maestrini of Brazil won the London Challenger. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
Brazil's Juliana Felisberta Silva (third from left) and Larissa Franca (second from right) celebrate with their coaches and physiotherapist in 2010 in Norway.
August 15
In 1999, Loiola and Emanuel won the Ostende Open. It was the 11th of 15 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 1999, Shelda and Adriana won the Dalian Open. It was the 14th of 31 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 1999, Kobel and Martin Walser won the Lausanne Satellite. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2009, Antonelli and Talita won the Kristiansand Open. It was the fourth of eighth FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2010, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States won the Kristiansand Open. It was the 16th of 23 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
Her royal highness, the Crown Princess of Norway Mette Marit (blue dress) with daughter Ingrid Alexandra awarding the 2010 Kristiansand gold medals to Todd Rogers (red top left) and Phil Dalhausser of the United States.