Time flies…
Three years ago, Fofao won her first Olympic Gold medal after 5 Olympics. The Brazilian setter led a new generation of players led by 2008 Olympic MVP Paula Pequeno, Sheilla, Mari, Walewska, Fabiana Claudino, Fabi, Thaisa, Valeskinha, Jaqueline and Carol. It was also Coach Guimaraes’ second gold medal after leading the men’s team to Olympic glory at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
Brazil defeated the Americans in 4 epic sets.
Coached by living legend Jenny Lang Ping, Team USA had an emotional journey from the start of the tournament. There was that forgettable shooting incident which involved Coach McCutcheon’s father-in-law. During pool play, Logan Tom and Team were demolished by the Cubans in straight sets but were able to defeat China and Poland with both matches going to 5. In the quarterfinal match, they worked harder than the Italians to claim a spot in the semis against the Cubans. As we all know, Team USA redeemed themselves by beating Cuba in 3 and the rest is history.
Brazil won their first gold, USA grabbed the silver medal and host China won the bronze after a winning it in 2004.
We invite you to watch this slideshow with precious pics from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. These athletes dreamed to be on Olympic medalist since the first day they touched a volleyball. A moment like this…
Don’t forget to unmute the slideshow to listen to the background song.
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We can’t wait for London…
(images: FIVB)