Rio de Janeiro, August 16, 2016 - The Brazilian Beach Legends, #1 seed, Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca will square off against the 2015-16 FIVB World Tour point leaders, Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst of Germany in the first semi-finals on day eleven in Rio. The Germans have won three of the four meetings, including the only match in 2016, but the #1 seed has won three of four in the Olympic Games. The winner will advance to the gold medal match, and the loser will play for the bronze medal.
Head to Head
Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst have won three of the four meetings on the FIVB World Tour, including the only match in 2016 for the Poland Grand Slam gold medal in June.
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 21-18, 15-21, and 15-10 in 41 minutes, Poland Grand Slam, Gold Medal, 06/18/2016
• Antunes/Franca won 21-17 and 21-18 in 39 minutes, SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals, Gold Medal, 10/04/2015
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 21-18 and 21-18 in 37 minutes, Yokohama Grand Slam, Quarterfinals, 07/25/2015
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 12-21, 23-21, and 17-15 in 56 minutes, St. Petersburg Grand Slam, Round of 16, 06/20/2015
Historically the #1 seed has won three of the four meetings in the Olympic Games, all four matches have beein in the semi-finals.
• Jennifer Kessy/April Ross (4), United States def. Larissa Franca/Juliana Felisberta (1), Brazil, 15-21, 21-19, 15-12 in 58 minutes, Semi-finals, London (2012).
• Jia Tian/Jie Wang (1), China def. Chen Xue/Xi Zhang (4), China, 22-24, 29-27, 15-8 in 71 minutes, Semi-finals, Beijing (2008).
• Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh Jennings (1), United States def. Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs (4), United States, 21-18, 21-15 in 41 minutes, Semi-finals, Athens (2004).
• Sandra Pires/Jackie Silva (1), Brazil def. Barbra Fontana/Linda Hanley (4), United States, 15-8 in 39 minutes, Semi-finals, Atlanta (1996).
Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca, Brazil, Seed #1, Pool A, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified as Host Nation Representative
• Talita: August 29, 1982 (33y11m18d), 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 (34y4m2d), 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 139-14 (90.8%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 104-10 (91.2%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 118-4 (96.7%) in two sets and 19-10 (65.5%) in three sets, including 125-4 (96.9%) when winning the 1st set and 12-10 (54.5%) 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.
Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst, Germany, Seed #4, Pool D, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified 4th with 6,500 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Laura: January 13, 1986 (30y7m3d), 181 cm (5'11"), 70 kg (155 lbs.), Hometown Berlin, 130th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 19th), seven gold medals, $800,137 career winnings (ranks 11th)
• Kira: November 18, 1990 (25y8m29d), 184 cm (6'0"), 75 kg (167 lbs.), Hometown Essen, 43rd FIVB World Tour event, seven gold medals, $370,187 career winnings (ranks 43rd)
• Laura and Kira have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 37th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 86th), seven gold medals (ranks 10th), $721,275 career winnings (ranks 12th).
• Laura has played in 33 FIVB World Tour final fours with seven gold, 11 silver, nine bronze medals and six 4th place finishes.
• Kira has played in 17 FIVB World Tour final fours with seven gold, three silver, four bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Laura and Kira have played in 11 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (4th Stavanger Major 2015, Gold Yokohama Grand Slam 2015, Bronze Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, Silver World Tour Finals 2015, Gold Puerto Vallarta Open 2015-16, Gold Antalya Open 2016, Gold Hamburg Major 2016, Gold Olsztyn Grand Slam 2016, 4th Porec Major 2016, Bronze Gstaad Major 2016, Gold Klagenfurt Major 2016).
• Laura finished 9th in the Olympic Games in 2008 (Beijing) and 5th in 2012 (London), both with Sara Goller Niedrig.
• Laura and Kira finished 5th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Laura finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2005 (Berlin), 17th in 2007 (Gstaad), 9th in 2009 (Stavanger), and 9th in 2011 (Rome), all with Sara Goller Niedrig.
• Laura and Kira are currently ranked 1st in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 5,980 points and 1st in winnings with $282,375.
• Laura and Kira have a career 157-54 (74.4%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 98-28 (77.8%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 116-29 (80.0%) in two sets and 39-21 (65.0%) in three sets, including 139-12 (92.1%) when winning the 1st set and 16-38 (29.6%) when losing the 1st set.
• Laura and Kira won bronze medals at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2013 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and 2014 (Cagliari, Italy), and gold medals in 2015 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and 2016 (Biel, Switzerland).
• Laura won the gold medal at the CEV Continental Championships with Sara Goller Niedrig in 2008 (Hamburg, Germany) and 2010 (Berlin, Germany).
• Laura ranks 3rd with eight gold medals on the CEV Continental Tour behind Greece's Vasso Karadassiou (10) and Vasiliki Arvaniti (9).
• Laura won the gold medal at the U18 World Championships with Jana Kohler in 2003 (Pattaya, Thailand).
• Laura was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2007, Best Offensive Player in 2011, Best Defensive Player in 2013, Most Inspirational in 2013, and Sportsperson in 2015.
• Kira was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2013 and Top Rookie in 2013.
• Pool D: Defeated Doaa Elghobashy /Nada Meawad, Egypt (21), 21-12 and 21-15 in 34 minutes.
• Pool D: Defeated Jamie Broder/Kristina Valjas, Canada (16), 21-17 and 21-11 in 32 minutes.
• Pool D: Defeated Laura Giombini/Marta Menegatti, Italy (9), 21-18, 18-21, and 15-9 in 51 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Verge-Depre, Switzerland (10), 21-19 and 21-10 in 36 minutes.
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan, Canada (5), 21-14 and 21-14 in 38 minutes.