Lausanne, Switzerland, May 24, 2020 - Twenty individuals have captured an Olympic beach volleyball gold medal and Jonas Reckermann is one of the Summer Games podium-toppers who will be celebrating a birthday this week as the German teamed with Julius Brink to capture the title in 2012 at London.
Reckermann, who turners 41 on Tuesday, is one of five beach volleyball Olympians celebrating a birthday this week, including German compatriots Lars Fluggen (30 today) and Britta Buthe (32 Monday). Other Summer Games birthdays during the May 24-30 period are Georgia’s Christine “Saka” Santanna (41 Wednesday) and Mexico’s Juan Rodriguez Ibarra (51 Saturday).
In addition to the birthdays for the five Olympians during the May 24-30 timeframe, 26 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour gold medals were awarded highlighted by three titles for the legendary Brazilian tandem of Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca with podium topping performances in Japan (Osaka 2007 and 2008) and Korea (Seoul 2010).
2010 Seoul gold medal winners Juliana Felisberta (left) and Larissa Franca of Brazil
Three-time Brazilian Olympic medal winner Ricardo Santos also captured three FIVB World Tour titles during the May 24-30 period with three different partners - Pedro Cunha (Prague 2012 on May 27), Ze Marco de Melo (Macau 2004 on May 28) and Emanuel Rego (Budva 2004 on May 30).
Beijing 2008 silver medal winners and 2005 FIVB world champions Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz Magelhaes of Brazil were also back-to-back winners on May 27, 2006 and 2007 in Shanghai, China, and Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy.
Jonas Reckermann
A two-time Olympian after placing ninth at the Athens 2004 Summer Games with Markus Dieckmann, Reckermann teamed with Brink to win the 2009 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships en route to becoming the international circuit’s top team and being honoured as the FIVB World Tour’s best blocker.
Reckermann’s FIVB career spanned 11 seasons as he sat out the 2006 season with health issues as back problems hampered his play. He competed in 104 World Tour events with four different partners and captured seven gold medals, competed in 25 finals with 36 podium placements, 44 final fours and 58 quarterfinal appearances.
The only Olympic gold medal winner born in May, Reckermann and Brink rank as the best-ever German men's pair on the World Tour as they won five gold medals in 33 events together with 12 finals, 21 medals and 24 final four appearances. Highlighted by a 25-match winning streak in 2009, Reckermann and Brink compiled a 162-46 match mark (77.9 winning percentage). Overall, Reckermann won 398 FIVB World Tour matches (69.3 winning percentage).
German Olympic champions Julius Brink (left) and Jonas Reckermann
Fluggen and Buthe
Fluggen and Buthe competed in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with Markus Bockermann and Karla Borger, respectively. Fluggen and Bockermann placed 19th in Rio and dropped a three-set pool play match to eventual bronze medal winners Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands.
Buthe, the 2011 FIVB World Tour rookie of the year, and Borger placed ninth in Rio where the Germans were eliminated by eventual fourth-place finishers Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca of Brazil. The highlight of Buthe's career was a silver medal at the 2013 FIVB World Championships in Poland were she and Borger dropped a three-set finale to China's Chen Xue and Xi Zhang.
Saka and Ibarra
Saka and Andrezza "Rtvelo" Martins placed 17th at the Beijing 2008 Olympics where the pair posted a three-set win over Russians Alexandra Shiryaeva Moiseeva/Natalya Uryadova in one of the more memorable Summer Games matches. When their nicknames were combined (Saka and Rtevelo), Sakartvelo is the native name for Georgia.
Pre-match handshake for Alexandra Shiryaeva Moiseeva (left) of Russia and Cristine "Saka" Santanna of Georgia
Rodriguez Ibarra and Joel Sotelo placed ninth at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games where the Mexican pair posted a stunning 15-12 side out scoring upset of Julien Prosser and Lee Zahner in the opening round. A year earlier at the FIVB World Championships in Marseille, the Australians defeated Rodriquez Ibarra and Sotelo 15-10 in an opening round match.
May 24
• In 2009, Juliana and Larissa won the Osaka Open. It was the 23rd of 45 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2015, Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas of Brazil won the Prague Open. It was the second of four FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
May 25
• In 2008, Juliana and Larissa won the Osaka Open. It was the 21st of 45 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2008, Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil of the Netherlands won the Zagreb Open. It was the second of nine FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2013, Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel of the Netherlands won the Corrientes Grand Slam. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
• In 2014, Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic won the FIVB Prague Open. It was the first of two FIVB World Tour wins for the 3rd win for the team.
Kristyna Kolocova (left) and Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic
May 26
• In 2013, Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins of Latvia won the Corrientes Grand Slam. It was the 1st of 13 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2019, Narongdet Kangkon and Banlue Nakprakhong of Thailand won the Boracay Open. It was the 1st FIVB World Tour win for the team.
• In 2019, Satono Ishitsubo and Asami Shiba of Japan won the Boracay Open. It was the second of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2019, Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway won the Jinjiang Open. It was the sixth of 10 FIVB World wins for the team.
• In 2019, Brooke Sweat and Kerri Walsh Jennings of the United States won the Jinjiang Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
May 27
• In 2006, Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz won the Shanghai Open. It was the fourth of 11 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2007, Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz won the Roseto degli Abruzzi Open. It was the eighth of 11 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2007, Talita Antunes and Renata Ribeiro of Brazil won the Singapore Open. It was the third of five FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2012, Cunha and Ricardo won the Prague Open. It was the fourth of four FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2018, Luciano Ferreira and Vinicius Rezende of Brazil won the FIVB Miguel Pereira Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
• In 2018, Adriana-Maria Matei and Beata Vaida of Romania won the Miguel Pereira Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
Beata Vaida (left) and Adriana-Maria Matei of Romania
May 28
• In 2000, Ze Marco and Ricardo won the Macau Open. It was the seventh of 11 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2006, Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China won the Shanghai Open. It was the first of 15 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2006, Rodrigo Monteiro and Hevaldo Moreira of Brazil won the Orco Challenger. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
May 29
• In 2005, Shaylyn Bede and Ana Paula Henkel of Brazil won the Osaka Open. It was the 1st and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
• In 2016, Nummerdor and Christiaan Varenhorst won the Moscow Grand Slam. It was the 4th win for the team.
• In 2016, April Ross and Walsh Jennings won the Moscow Grand Slam. It was the 10th of 11 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
Ana Paula Henkel (centre) and Shaylyn Bede of Brazil
May 30
• In 2004, Emanuel and Ricardo won the Budva Open. It was the seventh of 33 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
• In 2004, Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs of the United States won the Shanghai Open. It was the fifth of six FIVB World wins for the team.
• In 2010, Juliana and Larissa won the Seoul Open. It was the 31st of 45 wins for the team.
• In 2010, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States won the Myslowice Open. It was the 11th of 23 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.