The Lion King begins his quest for gold against Canada

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 6, 2016 - Latvia's Lion King, Aleksandrs Samoilovs, and his partner Janis Smedins try to recapture London Olympics magic against Canada's Ben Saxton/Chaim Schalk in the final match of day two.  Smedins won the bronze medal in London with Martins Plavins and 

The Canadian's lead the series 4-3 in FIVB World Tour competition, dating back to 2013.  The Latvians won two of the three meetings in 2013, with all three finishing in straight sets.  The next three matches, all won by Saxton/Schalk, required a third set with a 24-22, 18-21, 16-14 pool play win in 57 minutes in July, 2014, a 21-17, 17-21, 16-14 round of 24 win in 49 minutes in March, 2016, and a 19-21, 30-28, 20-18 bronze-medal triumph at the Porec Major in 61 minutes in July, 2016.  Samoilovs/Smedins won the last meeting between the two pairs in the semi-finals of the Klagenfurt Major, 21-16 and 21-18, right before the Olympics began.

Historically the #16 seed has upset the #9 seed in three of the four matches in the Olympic Games.  The #9 seed won the first meeting in Sydney (2000), 15-7 in sideout scoring, and the #16 seed has won the last three using rally scoring, including a straight-set win in Athens (2004) and two three-set wins in Beijing (2008), 21-16, 18-21, 16-14 in 58 minutes, and London (2012), 12-21, 21-15, 15-12 in 50 minutes.

• Aleksandrs: April 6, 1985 (31y4m0d), 196 cm (6'5"), 96 kg (213 lbs.), Hometown Riga, 136th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 24th), nine gold medals (ranks 21st), $590,087 career winnings (ranks 25th)

• Janis: July 31, 1987 (29y0m6d), 191 cm (6'3"), 84 kg (186 lbs.), Hometown Kuldiga, 98th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 80th), 10 gold medals (ranks 17th), $509,987 career winnings (ranks 33rd)

• Aleksandrs and Janis have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 47th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 58th), nine gold medals (ranks 10th), $771,675 career winnings (ranks 16th).

• Aleksandrs has played in 22 FIVB World Tour final fours with nine gold, six silver, three bronze medals and four 4th place finishes.

• Janis has played in 25 FIVB World Tour final fours with 10 gold, six silver, four bronze medals and five 4th place finishes.

• Aleksandrs and Janis have played in 10 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Silver Gstaad Major 2015, Gold Rio de Janeiro Open 2015, Gold Sochi Open 2015, Bronze Xiamen Open 2015, 4th Fuzhou Open 2016, Gold Antalya Open 2016, Gold Olsztyn Grand Slam 2016, 4th Porec Major 2016, Bronze Gstaad Major 2016, Gold Klagenfurt Major 2016).

• Aleksandrs finished 9th in the Olympic Games with Martins Plavins in 2008 (Beijing) and finished 9th with Ruslans Sorokins in 2012 (London).

• Janis won the bronze medal in the Olympic Games with Martins Plavins in 2012 (London).

• Aleksandrs and Janis finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).

• Aleksandrs finished 37th in the FIVB World Championships with Martins Plavins in 2007 (Gstaad), 9th in 2009 (Stavanger) and 17th in 2011 (Rome), both with Ruslans Sorokins, and 17th with Martins Plavins in 2015 (The Hague).

• Janis finished 4th in the FIVB World Championships with Martins Plavins in 2011 (Rome).

• Aleksandrs and Janis are currently ranked 1st in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 5,270 points and 1st in winnings with $217,875.

• Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins have a career 203-67 (75.2%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 92-33 (73.6%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.

• Aleksandrs and Janis won the gold medal at the European (CEV) Championship Final in 2015 (Klagenfurt, Austria).

• Aleksandrs won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships with Martins Plavins in 2005 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

• Janis won the bronze medal at the U18 World Championships with Ingars Ivanovs in 2004 (Termoli, Italy).

• Aleksandrs and Janis were the FIVB World Tour Team of the Year and Tour Points Champions in 2013 and 2014.

• Janis was named the FIVB World Tour Best Hitter in 2013 and 2014, Best Offensive Player in 2013, Best Setter in 2013, and Sportsperson in 2013.

• Janis missed the 2015 FIVB World Championships in The Netherlands with a knee injury.

• Ben: November 21, 1988 (27y8m16d), 200 cm (6'7"), 92 kg (204 lbs.), Hometown Calgary, 79th FIVB World Tour event, $239,037 career winnings (ranks 88th)

• Chaim: April 23, 1986 (30y3m14d), 196 cm (6'5"), 88 kg (195 lbs.), Hometown Red Deer, Alberta, 59th FIVB World Tour event, $218,912 career winnings (ranks 94th)

• Ben and Chaim have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 47th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 58th), $433,825 career winnings (ranks 41st).

• Ben has played in five FIVB World Tour final fours with one silver medal and four bronze medals.

• Chaim has played in five FIVB World Tour final fours with one silver medal and four bronze medals.

• Ben and Chaim have played in four Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Silver Yokohama Grand Slam 2015, Bronze Olsztyn Grand Slam 2015, Bronze Porec Major 2016, Bronze Klagenfurt Major 2016).

• Ben and Chaim finished 5th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).

• Ben finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships with Christian Redmann in 2011 (Rome).

• Ben and Chaim are currently ranked 7th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,400 points and 7th in winnings with $132,375.

• Ben and Chaim have a career 118-90 (56.7%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 69-44 (61.1%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.

• Ben and Chaim won two gold medals on the NORCECA Continental Tour in (2012 Chula Vista, United States) and (2014 Turtle Beach, Trinidad and Tobago).