Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy had a remarkable Olympic campaign, winning silver to earn Australia’s first Olympic medal in the event since Sydney 2000 and just our third medal ever. 

Damien Schumann and Chris McHugh achieved a milestone before stepping on the sand in Tokyo, becoming Australia’s first male beach volleyballers to compete at an Olympics since Beijing 2008 after qualifying through the continental cup. 

Clancy and Artacho’s campaign built throughout the two week tournament, progressing through the pool stages with wins over Cuba and Italy before a tough 2-1 loss to Russian Olympic Committee saw them through to the round of 16 as second in their pool. 

The knockout stages saw the pair lift their intensity, defeating China in the round of 16 before knocking off the World Champions Pavan and Humana-Paredes of Canada in a scintillating quarter-final matchup that showcased world class volleyball from both teams. The 21-15 19-21 15-12 victory highlighted the Australian’s championship pedigree. 

A straight sets semi-final victory over Latvia saw them assured of Australia’s first Olympic medal in 21 years. A tough final against a red-hot USA saw them win silver and set Australia back on the Olympic podium. 

On the men’s side, McHugh and Schuman faced a tough draw which included the Norwegian World Champions and top-5 seeded Russian Olympic Committee. 

With a thrilling first matchup, the Australians pushed the Norwegians to the edge, going down in a knife’s edge battle 21-18 18-21 15-13. The Norwegian pair of Mol and Sorum finished Tokyo as gold medallists, with this first matchup showing the world the Aussie duo can compete with the best of the best. 

While unable to capture the magic play of their first round encounter, the Aussie men fought bravely in pool match defeats to Russia and Spain. 

Mariafe and Taliqua reflected on their drought-breaking medal with great pride. 

“It stung straight after the match, there were happy and sad tears mixed, but I woke up today and this feels so great,” Clancy said. “We’ve won an Olympic silver medal and that’s such a fantastic achievement. My Olympic dream started watching Cathy Freeman back in 2000 and now I’m standing here an Olympic medallist. 

“Winning silver is absolutely stoking that fire to come back and go one better in Paris, but we’re so proud of what we did in Tokyo. And hopefully young boys and girls watching us will be inspired to start chasing their own dreams – not just in volleyball or sport but whatever they want to achieve.” 

Mariafe said it felt surreal to win an Olympic medal after having the fire lit by Nat Cook and Kerri Pottharst decades ago. 

“After Sydney 2000 my sister got a postcard from Nat and Kerri saying go for gold, chase your goals – and being the little sister I thought “you know what I’m going to do that,” Artacho recalled. 

“That lit my Olympic dream and now 20 years later I’m here on the Olympic podium, it’s unbelievable. We’ve shown so much resilience and strength to just make it to the Olympics and I’m so proud of our whole team. 

“These Games were such an unforgettable experience, that had so many challenges but we showed what we are made of to come out with an Olympic medal and hopefully inspired a lot of people back home.” 

After an incredibly tough qualifying and preparation schedule, which included McHugh and Schumann spending two weeks in quarantine directly before leaving for Tokyo after their qualification event in Thailand, they represented Australia with pride and showed Australia belongs in the Olympic competition. 

“We're so proud to be the first Australian men's team back at the Olympics in beach volleyball since 2008,” Schumann said. “In the last few cycles we've come close as a country to making that, for us to finally win that Continental Cup and get back into the Olympics is really, really special. It’s a massive honour to be here. 

McHugh also looked to the impact Tokyo will have on the next generation of beach volleyballers. 

“We’re very proud of our team,” McHugh said. “It's been a really long journey to get to this point. We couldn’t have done it without our families and our friends back home and we hope we made everyone proud. 

“It's also been a really special time in the village with the Australian team. We were able to hang out with everybody, we have a really close knit group and we’ve been celebrating everybody's successes. I'm sure that everybody will look back at these Games as something special and something really unique. 

“Volleyball is the second biggest participation sport in the world, and Australia has the world’s best beaches too. If we can get more kids playing and really investing in the grassroots it will give so many great opportunities. 

“With Brisbane 2032 coming it’s fantastic and I think we’ll see that investment come - but it’s not just about better sporting outcomes, but the incredible role models Olympic sport can bring. Look at Jess Fox, look at so many people on this Australian Olympic Team that are such high quality human beings. Australia loves the Olympics and I’d love to see Australia keep showcasing incredible people like that.” 

Dominic Sullivan