Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 6, 2016 - Top Seeded Brazilian beach volleyball legends Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca begin their gold medal quest against Russia's Ekaterina Birlova/Evgeniya Ukolova to start off day two. Larissa and Talita will be looking for gold after Franca's bronze-medal finish in London (2012) and Antunes two podium misses in Beijing (2008) and London. Ekaterina and Evgeniya are looking to improve on their 9th-place finish in London.
Head to Head
Talita/Larissa have won both previous meetings on the FIVB World Tour in straight sets. The Brazilians won the first meeting in the round of 16 at the Moscow Grand Slam in 2015, 21-13 and 21-18 in 33 minutes and the second in pool play at the Olsztyn Poland Grand Slam in August, 2015, 21-18 and 21-13 in 34 minutes.
Historically the top seed has won all four previous matches over the #24 seed in the Olympic Games, with all rally scoring matches being easy victories, 21-5 and 21-10 in 28 minutes in London (2012), 21-12 and 21-18 in 41 minutes in Beijing (2008), and 21-9 and 21-16 in 35 minutes in Athens (2004). The most competitive match occurred in Sydney (2000), using sideout scoring, where Australia's eventual gold medalists defeated Mexico's Teresa Galindo/Hilda Gaxiola, 15-11 in 41 minutes.
Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca, Brazil, Seed #1, Pool A, Qualified as Host Nation Representative
• Talita: August 29, 1982 (33y11m8d), 181 cm (5'11"), 65 kg (144 lbs.), Hometown Mato Grosso Do Sul, 154th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 4th), 31 gold medals (ranks 6th), $1,391,175 career winnings (ranks 4th). Talita ranks first in FIVB World Tour tournaments played amongst all women's players competing at the Rio Olympics.
• Larissa: April 14, 1982 (34y3m23d), 174 cm (5'9"), 68 kg (151 lbs.), Hometown Cachoeiro de Itapemirim-Es, 140th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 14th), 59 gold medals (ranks 1st), $1,774,735 career winnings (ranks 1st)
• Talita and Larissa have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 25th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, 13 gold medals (ranks 5th), $855,000 career winnings (ranks 9th).
• Talita has played in 78 FIVB World Tour final fours with 31 gold, 16 silver, 15 bronze medals and 16 4th place finishes.
• Larissa has played in 104 FIVB World Tour final four with 59 gold, 22 silver, 18 bronze medals and five 4th place finishes.
• Talita and Larissa have played in 12 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Gold Moscow Grand Slam 2015, Gold Porec Major 2015, Gold Gstaad Major 2015, Gold Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, Gold Olsztyn Grand Slam 2015, Gold Rio de Janeiro Open 2015, Gold World Tour Finals 2015, Gold Vitória Open 2016, Silver Moscow Grand Slam 2016, Bronze Hamburg Major 2016, Silver Olsztyn Grand Slam 2016, Gold Gstaad Major 2016).
• Talita finished 4th in the Olympic Games with Renata Ribeiro in 2008 (Beijing) and 9th with Maria Antonelli in 2012 (London).
• Larissa finished 5th in the Olympic Games with Ana Paula Henkel in 2008 (Beijing) and won the bronze medal with Juliana Felisberta in 2012 (London).
• Talita and Larissa finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• Talita finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships with Renata Ribeiro in 2007 (Gstaad) won the bronze medal in 2009 (Stavanger) and finished 5th in 2011 (Rome), both with Maria Antonelli, and finished 17th with Taiana Lima in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Larissa finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships with Ana Richa in 2003 (Rio de Janeiro), won the silver medal in 2005 (Berlin), won the bronze medal in 2007 (Gstaad), won the silver medal in 2009 (Stavanger), and won the gold medal in 2011 (Rome), all with Juliana Felisberta.
• Talita and Larissa are currently ranked 6th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,340 points and 3rd in winnings with $210,000.
• Talita and Larissa have a career 134-14 (90.5%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 99-10 (90.8%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.
• Talita won the bronze medal at the U21 World Championships with Maria Clara Salgado in 2002 (Catania, Italy).
• Larissa won the bronze medal at the Pan American Games in 2003 (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) with Ana Richa and won gold medals in 2007 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and 2011 (Guadalajara, Mexico), both with Juliana Felisberta.
• Talita and Larissa were Team of the Year and Tour Points Champions in 2015.
• Talita was named the FIVB World Tour Top Rookie in 2005, Best Blocker in 2013, Best Hitter in 2013, 2014, and 2015, Best Offensive Player in 2013, and was Team of the Year and Tour Points Champion with Taiana Lima in 2013.
• Larissa was named the FIVB World Tour Best Defensive Player in 2009, 2012, 2014, Best Hitter in 2008, 2010, Best Offensive Player in 2015, Best Setter in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014, Most Outstanding in 2006 and 2015, and was Team of the Year and Tour Points Champion with Juliana Felisberta in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Ekaterina Birlova/Evgeniya Ukolova, Russia, Seed #24, Pool A, Qualified from Continental Cup Finals
• Ekaterina: August 11, 1987 (28y11m26d), 180 cm (5'11"), 64 kg (142 lbs.), Hometown Bryansk, 77th FIVB World Tour event, two gold medals, $208,500 career winnings (ranks 85th)
• Evgeniya: May 17, 1989 (27y2m20d), 182 cm (6'0"), 66 kg (147 lbs.), Hometown Moscow, 109th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 46th), two gold medals, $272,512 career winnings (ranks 62nd)
• Ekaterina and Evgeniya have been playing together since 2011. They are playing in their 51st FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 53rd), two gold medals, $332,200 career winnings (ranks 48th). They have won Russia's only two FIVB World Tour gold medals.
• Ekaterina has played in five FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, one silver, one bronze medal and one 4th place finish.
• Evgeniya has played in eight FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, one silver, four bronze medals and one 4th place finish.
• Ekaterina and Evgeniya finished 9th in the Olympic Games in 2012 (London).
• Ekaterina and Evgeniya finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2011 (Rome), 9th in 2013 (Stare Jablonki), and 9th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Evgeniya finished 37th in the FIVB World Championships with Maria Prokopeva in 2009 (Stavanger).
• Ekaterina and Evgeniya are currently ranked 23rd in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 2,700 points and 29th in winnings with $47,600.
• Ekaterina and Evgeniya have a career 129-102 (55.8%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 53-45 (54.1%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.
• Ekaterina and Evgeniya won the silver medal at the European (CEV ) Continental Championships in 2015 (Klagenfurt, Austria).
• Evgeniya won the bronze medal at the 2014 CEV Baku Masters with Alexandra Moiseeva in 2014 (Baku, Azerbaijan).
• Ekaterina and Evgeniya and their Russian teammates were eliminated by France in the quarterfinals of the 2016 CEV Continental Cup in Stavanger, Norway. Russia received a “wild card” for the Sochi finals where Ekaterina teamed with Nadezda Makroguzova to post a 5-1 record in Sochi and Evgeniya and Anastasia Barsuk were 4-2. With a ticket to Rio at stake after Russia and Austria split their first two matches to force a “golden set”, Ekaterina and Evgeniya were reunited on the Sochi sand and posted a 15-2 win over Barbara Hansel and Stefanie Schwaiger to clinch Russia's second Olympic birth.