27/07/2012 14:00
Van Iersel/Keizer out to become first European women on Olympic podium
2012 Olympic Games
London, Great Britain, July 27,
2012. In the history of beach volleyball at the Olympic Games a
European women’s team has yet to win a medal, but ahead of the London
2012 Olympic Games reigning European champions Marleen van Iersel and Sanne
Keizer are spearheading the efforts of a number of teams from the
continent, who are all aiming to be the first ever to finish on the
Olympic podium.
The Dutch duo won their European crown earlier
this year in front of the home fans in The Hague. It continued their
impressive form as a pairing since they became the first European women
to win back to back FIVB SWATCH World Tour events, when they won gold at
the Shanghai and Myslowice Opens in 2011. Van Iersel and Keizer
have twice finished on the podium this year, with a silver in Gstaad
and bronze in Beijing. Italy’s Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti are
the most successful European side of 2012 with four medals, while
Germany’s Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig and Switzerland’s Nadine Zumkehr
and Simone Kuhn have also featured on the medal podium this season.
“The
European teams are moving up the world rankings, whereas before it was
only USA, Brazil and China,” van Iersel said. “I think the Europeans
have shown that we are getting there and that they have to be aware of
us. I think it is definitely possible that a European team could
win a medal. There’s Cicolari and Menegatti and Goller and Ludwig; they
have a good chance".
This Olympic promises to be one of the most
open and unpredictable tournaments since beach volleyball was
introduced to the Olympic Games in 1996 thanks in part to the rise of
the European teams. Even so the traditional powers remain as
strong as ever. USA’s Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor will be
defending the gold medals they won in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008,
while their compatriots April Ross and Jennifer Kessy will want to
repeat their success from the 2009 FIVB World Championships. China’s
Chen Xue and Zhang Xi are out to improve on their bronze medal from
four years ago and current world champions Juliana Felisberta and
Larissa Franca will be out to add the one medal they don’t have in the
collection when the action starts in London.
“I think Juliana and Larissa are one of the best and always a tough team to play against,” van Iersel added.Van
Iersel and Keizer qualified for London at the start of the year at the
Brasilia Open, the first tournament of 2012. The fact that they
qualified almost six months before the action gets underway at Horse
Guards Parade means that they have been able to focus on the
preparation for London, which leaves them in confident mood. “We
qualified so early and after that it was a relief for us, because we
could build our own programme of what events we would play, so it has
been quite relaxing for us,” van Iersel said.“Every now and then
you think are we doing enough, are we doing the right things, are we
going to be ready in time, but I think we are ready.”
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