Rio de Janeiro, Brazil July 30, 2016 – Reigning world champion Alison Cerutti is one of the most recognisable figures on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour – big, powerful and a fans’ favourite wherever he plays. He is also one of the most decorated players on the Tour and will be chasing the ultimate glory in Rio 2016 – Olympic gold.
He and partner Bruno Schmidt go into the tournament as FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships gold medallists, World Tour champions and number one seeds. However, four years ago Alison and Emanuel went into London 2012 in a similar position, but had to settle for silver after Germany’s Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann hit top form at Horse Guard’s Parade.
Unlike many of his compatriots Alison didn’t win any major titles at age-group level and he only made his breakthrough aged 23 when he and Harley Marques won silver at the 2009 World Championships. He then teamed up with Emanuel in 2010 and the pair were in imperious form as they won the 2011 World Championships in Rome.
After they split at the end of 2013 he joined up with Bruno and the pair won their first World Tour medal in their first tournament together, silver at the Fuzhou Open in China.
Since then they have racked up the titles and gold medals, most recently at the Porec Major Series in Croatia and have been hard at work in Brazil since mid-July to ensure that they are in peak condition for the biggest test of their careers to date.