Pool C at this fall’s Beach Volleyball World Championships is the unofficial Pool of Death. It includes:
David Ahman, Jonatan Hellvig, Sweden
Paul Burnett, Thomas Hodges, Australia
Saymon Barbosa, George Wanderley, Brazil
Renato Lima, Andre Loyola, Brazil
This year has been one of the weakest for the Brazilian federation in recent memory, if not ever. While Arthur Lanci and Evandro Goncalves have played well, with two silvers and a gold medal, they have been the only consistent performers.
Enter Andre Loyola and Renato Lima.
I’ve long been a huge fan of Renato’s game, one of the smoothest offensive players out there with the sweetest arm swing. Andre’s results speak for themselves. He was a fun and whimsical storyline during Gstaad, when he took a break from his sabbatical and popped in for a random event with George Wanderley and somehow beat Norway and finished fourth. But now he’ll have had time to train and prep for the biggest event of the season, and he and Renato are my dark horse to medal in Adelaide.
