Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho Del Solar will start their quest for an Olympic medal today, when they face the Cuban pair of Lidiannis ‘Lidy’ Echeverria and Leila Martinez in their first pool match in Tokyo.
In an Olympic draw that boasts an impressive depth of talent, the Australians will be aiming to upstage traditional beach volleyball powerhouses Brazil and USA to claim a place on the podium.
Brazil and USA have been dominating the medal table since the discipline was included in the Olympic program in 1996, winning a combined 23 out of 36 medals and hold three of the top-four seeds behind no.1-ranked 2019 World Champions Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Canada.
Entering the Olympic competition ranked number five, Del Solar and Clancy have proven they are contenders, winning World Championship bronze in 2019 and winning the 4-star tournament in Cancun filled with top Olympic competitors in May.
Cuba qualified for the Games via the NORCECA Continental Cup and are an unknown factor, due to their rare appearances on the Beach Volleyball World Tour. Still, Clancy said the Australian team have a good idea of what to expect after seeing the Cubans play in Cancun earlier in the year, and will face their first opponents with plenty of confidence in their own abilities.
“They [Lily and Leila] are both exceptional athletes, so it's a really great first match for us to start,” Clancy said
“The sand isn’t as deep as what we were expecting, which is really positive for our game as it allows us to maximise attacking weapons. There are good serving conditions as well, so I’m excited for us to be able to use these weapons that we have in our game,” Clancy said.
Del Solar said she and Clancy are excited to finally be able to start their second Olympic campaign, their first together after playing with different partners (Bowden and Laird respectively) in Rio.
“This one has been a long time coming, but we’re just grateful to be finally here in Tokyo competing,” Del Solar said. “Every time you put on the green and gold, it’s just an honour and a very proud moment.
“We’ll definitely be nervous, but very excited at the same time. Obviously we train for these big events, but the journey to get here was also very important. We’ve had an amazing three years and now we’re on the biggest stage in the world. It’s going to be important for us to really enjoy it, get out there and do what we do best.”
Australia v Cuba is the second match of Pool E, which also includes Russia and Italy. Start time on Sunday is 1pm AEST.
