Rio de Janeiro, August 17, 2016 - Brazilian beach legends, Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca will play for the bronze medal against London medalists, April Ross/Kerri Walsh Jennings of the United States. The Brazilians have won four of the five meetings, which have all been in the medal rounds. The winner will win the bronze medal, the loser finishes in 4th place.
Head to Head
Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca have won four of the five meetings on the FIVB World Tour, all in the medal rounds.
• Antunes/Franca won 21-18 and 21-14 in 33 minutes, Gstaad Major, Gold Medal, 07/09/2016
• Antunes/Franca won 21-15 and 21-17 in 32 minutes, Major Hamburg, Bronze Medal, 06/11/2016
• Ross/Walsh Jennings won 22-20 and 21-17 in 36 minutes, Moscow Grand Slam, Gold Medal, 05/29/2016
• Antunes/Franca won 22-20 and 21-19 in 39 minutes, Vitória Open, Gold Medal, 03/20/2016
• Antunes/Franca won 21-18 and 21-16 in 54 minutes, Long Beach Grand Slam, Gold Medal, 08/23/2015
Historically the #1 seed and #3 seed have never met in the Olympic Games.
Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca, Brazil, Seed #1, Pool A, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified as Host Nation Representative
• Talita: August 29, 1982 (33y11m19d), 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 (34y4m3d), 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 139-15 (90.3%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 104-11 (90.4%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 118-5 (95.9%) in two sets and 19-10 (65.5%) in three sets, including 125-4 (96.9%) when winning the 1st set and 12-11 (52.2%) when losing the 1st set.
• 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.
• Pool A: Defeated Ekaterina Birlova/Evgeniya Ukolova, Russia (24), 21-14 and 21-16 in 34 minutes.
• Pool A: Defeated Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat, United States (13), 21-16 and 21-13 in 36 minutes.
• Pool A: Defeated Monika Brzostek/Kinga Kolosinska, Poland (12), 21-10 and 21-15 in 29 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Karla Borger/Britta Buthe, Germany (8), 21-17 and 21-19 in 38 minutes.
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland (17), 21-23, 27-25, and 15-13 in 70 minutes.
• Semi-finals: Lost to Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst, Germany (4), 18-21 and 12-21 in 36 minutes.
April Ross/Kerri Walsh Jennings, United States, Seed #3, Pool C, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified 3rd with 6,670 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• April: June 20, 1982 (34y1m28d), 185 cm (6'1"), 76 kg (169 lbs.), Hometown Newport Beach, California 114th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 36th), 20 gold medals (ranks 8th), $979,175 career winnings (ranks 8th)
• Kerri: August 15, 1978 (38y0m2d), 188 cm (6'2"), 70 kg (155 lbs.), Hometown Santa Clara, California 115th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 34th), 54 gold medals (ranks 2nd), $1,409,170 career winnings, (ranks 3rd)
• April and Kerri have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 29th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, 10 gold medals (ranks 7th), $680,500 career winnings (ranks 17th).
• April has played in 54 FIVB World Tour final fours with 20 gold, 15 silver, 11 bronze medals and eight 4th place finishes.
• Kerri has played in 86 FIVB World Tour final fours with 54 gold, 18 silver, nine bronze medals and five 4th place finishes.
• April and Kerri have played in 11 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Bronze Fuzhou Open 2015, 4th Gstaad Major 2015, Silver Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, Gold Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam 2016, Silver Vitória Open 2016, Bronze Xiamen Open 2016, Gold Fuzhou Open 2016, Gold Cincinnati Open 2016, Gold Moscow Grand Slam 2016, 4th Hamburg Major 2016, Silver Gstaad Major 2016).
• April won the silver medal in the Olympic Games with Jennifer Kessy in 2012 (London).
• Kerri is a three-time defending Olympic games gold medalist, winning with Misty May-Treanor in 2004 (Athens), 2008 (Beijing), and 2012 (London). She is competing in her fourth Olympics in beach volleyball, more than any other woman in Rio, which ties May-Treanor for second most. Australia's Natalie Cook leads all women with five Olympic appearances from 1996-2012.
• April and Kerri finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• April finished 37th in the FIVB World Championships in 2007 (Gstaad), won the gold medal in 2009 (Stavanger), and finished 5th in 2011 (Rome), all with Jennifer Kessy and finished 4th with Whitney Pavlik in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Kerri finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2001 (Klagenfurt), won gold medals in 2003 (Rio de Janeiro), 2005 (Berlin), and 2007 (Gstaad), and won the silver medal in 2011 (Rome), all with Misty May-Treanor.
• April and Kerri are currently ranked 3rd in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,730 points and 2nd in winnings with $217,000.
• April and Kerri have a career 150-27 (84.7%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 84-19 (81.6%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 106-11 (90.6%) in two sets and 41-11 (78.8%) in three sets, including 124-5 (96.1%) when winning the 1st set and 23-17 (57.5%) when losing the 1st set.
• April was named the FIVB World Tour Top Rookie in 2007, Best Hitter in 2009 and 2011, Best Offensive Player in 2009, and Best Server in 2011, 2012, and 2015.
• Kerri was named the FIVB World Tour Best Blocker in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2014, Best Hitter in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2012, Best Offensive Player in 2007 and 2014, Most Inspirational in 2011, 2012, and 2014, Most Outstanding in 2007, 2012, 2013, and 2014, Sportsperson in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2012, and was the FIVB World Tour Points Champion in 2002 with Misty May-Treanor.
• Kerri is the oldest women's player competing in the Rio Olympics at 38 years, 0 months. She is the sixth oldest in all Olympic Games; Australia's Kerri Pottharst is the oldest at 39 years, 1 month at the start of the 2004 Olympics in Sydney.
• Pool C: Defeated Mariafe Artacho/Nicole Laird, Australia (22), 21-14 and 21-13 in 32 minutes.
• Pool C: Defeated Fan Wang/Yuan Yue, China (15), 21-16 and 21-9 in 33 minutes.
• Pool C: Defeated Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Verge-Depre, Switzerland (10), 21-13, 22-24, and 15-12 in 62 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Laura Giombini/Marta Menegatti, Italy (9), 21-10 and 21-16 in 32 minutes.
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Louise Bawden/Taliqua Clancy, Australia (7), 21-14 and 21-16 in 38 minutes.
• Semi-finals: Lost to Agatha Bednarczuk/Barbara Seixas, Brazil (2), 20-22 and 18-21 in 48 minutes.