Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 5, 2016 - The #2 seed, Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands takes on Russia's #23 seed Dmitri Barsouk/Nikita Liamin in the first Pool B match. Brouwer/Meeuwsen burst onto the scene, getting their first FIVB World Tour gold medal at the World Championships in Stare Jablonki, Poland in 2013 and are hoping to find similar magic in their first Olympic Games competition. Russia's Dimitry Barsouk is happy to be back in the Olympic Games after finishing 9th with Igor Kolodinsky in 2008 (Beijing) but missing out in the London 2012 Games.
Head to Head
The two teams met one time previously on the FIVB World Tour, with Brouwer/Meeuwsen winning a tough three-set match in the round of 24 at the Vitória Open in March, 20-22, 21-19, and 15-21 in 45 minutes.
Historically the #2 seed has won three of the four meetings in Olympic Games competition. In Beijing, Latvian youngsters Martins Plavins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs upset USA's Phil Dalhausser/Todd Rogers in straight sets in their Olympic openers. Dalhausser/Rogers recovered and captured the gold medal despite the opening-round pool play loss.
Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen, Netherlands, Seed #2, Pool B, Qualified 2nd with 6,470 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Alexander: November 3, 1989 (26y9m3d), 198 cm (6'6"), 88 kg (195 lbs.), Hometown Leiden, 70th FIVB World Tour event, two gold medals, $314,050 career winnings (ranks 61st)
• Robert: March 21, 1988 (28y4m16d), 207 cm (6'9"), 92 kg (204 lbs.), Hometown Nieuwegein, 61st FIVB World Tour event, two gold medals, $305,862 career winnings (ranks 66th)
• Alexander and Robert have been playing together since 2011. They are playing in their 59th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 42nd), two gold medals, $611,725 career winnings (ranks 27th).
• Alexander has played in 13 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, five silver, three bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Robert has played in 13 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, five silver, three bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Alexander and Robert have played in 10 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Silver Fuzhou Open 2015, Silver Lucerne Open 2015, Gold Porec Major 2015, Bronze Gstaad Major 2015, 4th Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, 4th World Tour Finals 2015, Silver Puerto Vallarta Open 2015-16, Bronze Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam 2016, Bronze Vitória Open 2016, Silver Hamburg Major 2016).
• Alexander and Robert won the gold medal in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and finished 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Alexander and Robert are currently ranked 9th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,190 points and 5th in winnings with $148,375.
• Alexander and Robert have a career 175-102 (63.2%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 85-33 (72.0%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.
• Alexander won the silver medal at the U21 World Championships with Christiaan Varenhorst in 2008 (Brighton, England).
• Alexander and Robert won one silver medal and one bronze medal on the European (CEV) Continental Tour in 2012-15.
Dmitri Barsouk/Nikita Liamin, Russia, Seed #23, Pool B, Qualified from Continental Cup Finals
• Dmitri: January 20, 1980 (36y6m17d), 193 cm (6'4"), 86 kg (191 lbs.), Hometown Krasnodar, 128th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 32nd), two gold medals, $364,262 career winnings (ranks 53rd)
• Nikita: October 14, 1985 (30y9m23d), 203 cm (6'8"), 91 kg (202 lbs.), Hometown Gorkiy, 18th FIVB World Tour event, $23,887 career winnings
• Dmitri and Nikita have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 14th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together with $45,775 career winnings.
• Dmitri has played in 14 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, three silver, four bronze medals and five 4th place finishes.
• Nikita has played in one FIVB World Tour final four with one bronze medal.
• Dmitri finished 9th in the Olympic Games with Igor Kolodinsky in 2008 (Beijing).
• Dmitri finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2003 (Rio de Janeiro) and 9th in 2005 (Berlin), both with Roman Arkaev, won the silver medal in 2007 (Gstaad) and finished 17th in 2009 (Stavanger), both with Igor Kolodinsky and finished 37th with Alexey Yutvalin in 2011 (Rome) and 37th with Yaroslav Koshkarev in 2015 (The Hague).
• Dmitri and Nikita are currently ranked 35th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 1,930 points and 33rd in winnings with $28,775.
• Dmitri and Nikita have a career 37-26 (58.7%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 25-20 (55.6%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.
• Dmitri won the silver medal at the 1st European Games with Yaroslav Koshkarev in 2015 (Baku, Azerbaijan).
• Dmitri won the bronze medal at the European (CEV) Continental Championship with Igor Kolodinsky in 2008 (Hamburg, Germany) and one other silver medal on the CEV Continental Tour with Yaroslav Koshkarev in 2015.
• Dmitri was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2007.
• After missing their first opportunity to secure a Copacabana spot by placing third at the CEV Continental Cup competition at the end of June in Stavanger, Norway, the Russian team bounced back with wins over Kazakhstan, Venezuela, Morocco, Canada, Mexico and Belgium at the Continental Cup Finals in Sochi.