2008 Summer Olympics / Beach volleyball

Beach volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics
information
venue	Beijing
Competition venue	Chaoyang Park
Teams	48
Nations	23
Athletes	96 (48 , 48 )
date	August 9-22, 2008
decisions	2
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The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing hosted beach volleyball tournaments for women and men. As in 2004 in Athens, the Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won the women's competition . Your compatriots Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser won the men.

qualification

For women and men, 24 teams each qualified for the Olympic tournament. Since the beginning of 2007, the teams have been able to collect points for the ranking list at championships and tournaments. The eight best results of each pair went into the scoring, with only the best of the two continental championships held during the qualifying period counted. The teams in the first 24 places were qualified. However, only two pairs were rated per nation. Since the People's Republic of China and every continental association had a starting place, the best team of the respective continent or the best Chinese couple moved into the main field instead of a team in the ranking that was 24 or higher.

The ranking was closed after the tournament in Marseille on July 20th. For the men, Brink / Dieckmann and Klemperer / Koreng played for Germany, Doppler / Gartmeyer and Gosch / Horst for Austria and Heuscher / Heyer and Laciga / Schnider for Switzerland. For the women, Goller / Ludwig and Pohl / Rau represented Germany and the Schwaiger sisters Austria. The second Austrian duo Montagnolli / Swoboda had to cancel their participation at short notice due to an injury to Sabine Swoboda. The Swiss duo Kuhn / Schwer, who had just missed the qualification before, moved up.

mode

The mode was the same for women and men.

On July 26th, the Olympic tournament was drawn in Gstaad . The 24 qualified teams were divided into six groups of four. The two best teams in each group and the two best thirds in the group went straight to the next round. The remaining third in the group determined the other eighth finalists in two playoff games ("lucky loser"). When determining the positions in the table, the direct comparison counted for the same number of points and the ball point quotient (BPQ) for more than two teams with the same points. The pairings in the round of 16 were drawn. Then the knockout system continues until the final.

The games were played in Beijing from August 9th to 24th. In Chaoyang Park , a temporary beach volleyball stadium was built, offered the space for 12,200 spectators. The tickets available for sale had already been sold out at the beginning of May.

Schedule men

Preliminary round

Group A
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Xu / Wu	1.298	6: 1	6th
2.	Herrera / Mesa	1.065	4: 2	5
3.	Gosch / Horst	0.835	2: 5	4th
4th	Quays / Vesik	0.893	2: 6	3

August 10	Xu / Wu	Gosch / Horst	2-0
	Herrera / Mesa	Quays / Vesik	2-0
12. August	Xu / Wu	Quays / Vesik	2: 1
	Herrera / Mesa	Gosch / Horst	2-0
August 14th	Xu / Wu	Herrera / Mesa	2-0
	Quays / Vesik	Gosch / Horst	1: 2

In the first game of Group A, the Chinese duo clearly won in two sets against the Austrians Gosch / Horst. The victory of the Spaniards against the Estonians was narrower with a 23:21 in the second set. Kais / Vesik also won the first set against Xu / Wu two days later, but had to admit defeat after a 11:21 in the second round. For Gosch / Horst there was the second defeat. However, they won the duel between the teams without a win against the Estonian duo in the tie-break and thus reached the play-off game of the "lucky loser". Xu / Wu secured victory in the group with a clear win against Herrera / Mesa.

Group B
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Samoilovs / Pļaviņš	1.037	4: 3	5
2.	Rogers / Dalhausser	1,315	4: 2	5
3.	Heyer / Heuscher	0.930	3: 4	4th
4th	Conde / Baracetti	0.798	2: 4	4th

August 9	Rogers / Dalhausser	Samoilovs / Pļaviņš	0: 2
	Heyer / Heuscher	Conde / Baracetti	2-0
August 11th	Conde / Baracetti	Samoilovs / Pļaviņš	2-0
	Rogers / Dalhausser	Heyer / Heuscher	2-0
13 August	Rogers / Dalhausser	Conde / Baracetti	2-0
	Heyer / Heuscher	Samoilovs / Pļaviņš	1: 2

On the first day of Group B, the reigning world champions suffered a setback. With 19:21 and 18:21 they lost against Samoilovs / Plavins. After this success, the Latvians also won their second game against the Swiss Heyer / Heuscher, who had previously defeated the Argentine duo. After the false start, Rogers / Dalhausser achieved two clear victories against Conde / Baracetti and Heyer / Heuscher. Nevertheless, it was not enough to win the group because the Latvians benefited from the direct comparison despite their final defeat. The Swiss reached the playoff game as third in the group.

Group C
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Ricardo / Emanuel	1.432	6-0	6th
2.	Shaft / slack	1.127	4: 2	5
3.	Geor / Gia	1.027	2: 4	4th
4th	Fernandes / Morais	0.571	0: 6	3

August 9	Ricardo / Emanuel	Fernandes / Morais	2-0
	Shaft / slack	Geor / Gia	2-0
August 11th	Shaft / slack	Fernandes / Morais	2-0
	Ricardo / Emanuel	Geor / Gia	2-0
13 August	Geor / Gia	Fernandes / Morais	2-0
	Ricardo / Emanuel	Shaft / slack	2-0

Group C was dominated by the Brazilians Ricardo / Emanuel and the Australians Schacht / Slack, who both won their games 2-0. The underdogs from Angola did not reach more than fifteen points in any of their six sets and were also defeated by the Brazilians playing for Georgia, who came third in the group. Ricardo / Emanuel decided the final duel against the Australian duo with 21:14 and 21:17 for themselves.

Group D
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Doppler / Gartmayer	1.083	6: 2	6th
2.	Márcio Araújo / Fábio Luiz	1.061	5: 2	5
3.	Barsuk / Kolodinski	1.094	3: 4	4th
4th	Lione / Amore	0.829	0: 6	3

August 10	Márcio Araújo / Fábio Luiz	Lione / Amore	2-0
	Barsuk / Kolodinski	Doppler / Gartmayer	1: 2
12. August	Márcio Araújo / Fábio Luiz	Doppler / Gartmayer	1: 2
	Barsuk / Kolodinski	Lione / Amore	2-0
August 14th	Doppler / Gartmayer	Lione / Amore	2-0
	Márcio Araújo / Fábio Luiz	Barsuk / Kolodinski	2-0

In Group D, the Austrians Doppler / Gartmayer secured first place with three narrow wins. First they prevailed with a 16:14 in the tiebreak against Barsuk / Kolodinski and two days later they won after losing the first set against Márcio Araújo / Fábio Luiz. In the end there was a 2-0 win against the Italians, who had previously lost against the Russians and Brazilians, with a 24:22 in the second set. Barsuk / Kolodinski were among the best third in the group after losing to Márcio Araújo / Fábio Luiz.

Group E
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Numberdor / Schuil	1.255	6: 1	6th
2.	M. Laciga / Schnider	1.108	4: 2	5
3.	Klemperer / Koreng	0.894	2: 5	4th
4th	Kjemperud / Skarlund	0.837	2: 6	3

August 9	Numberdor / Schuil	Laciga / Schnider	2-0
	Klemperer / Koreng	Kjemperud / Skarlund	2: 1
August 11th	Numberdor / Schuil	Kjemperud / Skarlund	2: 1
	Klemperer / Koreng	Laciga / Schnider	0: 2
13 August	Kjemperud / Skarlund	Laciga / Schnider	0: 2
	Numberdor / Schuil	Klemperer / Koreng	2-0

The German duo Klemperer / Koreng had to fend off three match points in their first game against Kjemperud / Skarlund before they could prevail in the tie-break. The Norwegians then took another set against the undefeated Dutch and were eliminated without a win. Klemperer / Koreng lost both to the Swiss duo Laciga / Schneider and to Nummerdor / Schuil and had to go to the playoff round as third in the group, while the Swiss progressed as second in the group.

Group F.
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Gibb / Rosenthal	1.279	6: 1	6th
2.	Asahi / Shiratori	0.974	3: 5	4th
3.	Boersma / Ronnes	0.912	3: 4	4th
4th	Brink / C. Dieckmann	0.876	2: 4	4th

August 10	Brink / Dieckmann	Asahi / Shiratori	2-0
	Gibb / Rosenthal	Boersma / Ronnes	2-0
12. August	Boersma / Ronnes	Asahi / Shiratori	1: 2
	Brink / Dieckmann	Gibb / Rosenthal	0: 2
August 14th	Gibb / Rosenthal	Asahi / Shiratori	2: 1
	Brink / Dieckmann	Boersma / Ronnes	0: 2

In Group F, the Americans took first place with three wins without losing a set. The decision was closer than in any other group. The German duo Brink / Dieckmann created a good starting position with the opening win against Asahi / Shiratori, but then lost twice in two sets against the Dutch and Gibb / Rosenthal. The Japanese lost to the Americans with 16:18 in the tiebreak and won in three sets against Boersma / Ronnes. After all, the point quotient had to decide on the placements in a direct comparison and the Japanese did best in this evaluation. While it was enough for the Dutch to get into the playoff round, Brink / Dieckmann were eliminated after the preliminary round.

Third party playoff games (Lucky loser)
August 14th	Heyer / Heuscher	Gosch / Horst	0: 2
	Boersma / Ronnes	Klemperer / Koreng	0: 2

In the first playoff game, the Austrians beat the Swiss duo 2-0 after a clear 21:11 in the first set. The Germans used their sixth match point to 27:25 against the Dutch, who had played their last group game just a few hours earlier, and also reached the round of 16.

Final round

In the first game of the round of 16 , the US world champions Rogers / Dalhausser prevailed against the Swiss Laciga / Schnider in the tie -break with 15:13. Geor / Gia also needed three sets against the Austrians Doppler / Gartmayer and the Brazilians Ricardo / Emanuel against the Russians Barsuk / Kolodinski. In all other games of this round, the decision was made after two sets. The Germans Klemperer / Koreng, who had only qualified through the playoff round, defeated the number one seeded duo of hosts. The Austrians Gosch / Horst stopped the Latvian duo, which surprised in the preliminary round. In the quarter-finals , Klemperer / Koreng missed their second win against a tournament favorite despite two set balls against Rogers / Dalhausser and were eliminated. In addition to the Americans, the two Brazilian duos and the Brazilians playing for Georgia also prevailed in two sets. In the first semi-final , Rogers / Dalhausser dominated with 21:11 and 21:13 against Geor / Gia. Then Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz won the Brazilian duel against the defending champions Ricardo / Emanuel with 22:20 and 21:18. The latter secured the bronze medal in the game for third place with a clear win against Geor / Gia. In the final , Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz managed to equalize the set after a narrowly lost first set (21:23) with 21:17. The US world champions clearly dominated the tie-break (15: 4). Rogers / Dalhausser thus won the gold medal.

	Round of 16 August 16					Quarterfinals August 18th					Semi-finals August 20th					Final August 22nd
		Xu / Wu	0
		Klemperer / Koreng	2
							Klemperer / Koreng	0
							Rogers / Dalhausser	2
		M. Laciga / Schnider	0
		Rogers / Dalhausser	2
												Rogers / Dalhausser	2
											Geor / Gia	0
		Numberdor / Schuil	2
		Shaft / slack	0
							Numberdor / Schuil	0
							Geor / Gia	2
		Geor / Gia	2
		Doppler / Gartmayer	0
																	Rogers / Dalhausser	2
																Márcio Araújo / Fábio Luiz	1
		Ricardo / Emanuel	2
		Barsuk / Kolodinski	1
							Ricardo / Emanuel	2
							Gibb / Rosenthal	0
		Herrera / Mesa	0
		Gibb / Rosenthal	2
												Ricardo / Emanuel	0
											Márcio Araújo / Fábio Luiz	2
		Asahi / Shiratori	0
		Márcio Araújo / Fábio Luiz	2
							Márcio Araújo / Fábio Luiz	2
															3rd place match
							Gosch / Horst	0
		Gosch / Horst	2													Geor / Gia	0
		Samoilovs / Pļaviņš	0														Ricardo / Emanuel	2

Schedule women

Preliminary round

Group A
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Tian Jia / Wang Jie	1.183	6: 2	6th
2.	Maaseide / Glesnes	1.074	5: 2	5
3.	Van Breedam / Mouha	1.007	3: 4	4th
4th	Kuhn / Heavy	0.738	0: 6	3

August 9	Maaseide / Glesnes	Van Breedam / Mouha	2-0
	Tian Jia / Wang	Kuhn / Heavy	2-0
August 11th	Tian Jia / Wang	Van Breedam / Mouha	2: 1
	Maaseide / Glesnes	Kuhn / Heavy	2-0
13 August	Tian Jia / Wang	Maaseide / Glesnes	2: 1
	Van Breedam / Mouha	Kuhn / Heavy	2-0

In Group A, the Chinese duo dominated. Tian Jia / Wang Jie had to go into the tiebreak twice, but eventually won all three games. The Swiss Kuhn / Schwer, however, did not exceed 18 points in any set and were eliminated without a win. Maaseide / Glesnes won the decisive opening game against the Belgians with 24:22 and 21:18. Despite the defeat in three sets against the Chinese, the Norwegians finished second in the group, while Van Breedam / Mouha reached the playoff round in third.

Group B
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Walsh / May-Treanor	1.482	6-0	6th
2.	Fernández G. / Larrea P.	1,000	4: 2	5
3.	Håkedal / Tørlen	0.973	2: 4	4th
4th	Saiki / Kusuhara	0.698	0: 6	3

August 10	Walsh / May-Treanor	Saiki / Kusuhara	2-0
	Håkedal / Tørlen	Fernández G. / Larrea P.	0: 2
12. August	Walsh / May-Treanor	Fernández G. / Larrea P.	2-0
	Håkedal / Tørlen	Saiki / Kusuhara	2-0
August 14th	Walsh / May-Treanor	Håkedal / Tørlen	2-0
	Fernández G. / Larrea P.	Saiki / Kusuhara	2-0

The internationally most successful duo Walsh / May-Treanor lived up to their favorite position in the preliminary round and did not drop more than 16 points in any set. After the duel on matchday one, which Fernández / Larrea won against Håkedal / Tørlen with 22:20 and 21:19, the Cubans and Norwegians both won against the winless Japanese and lost against the US duo . Fernández / Larrea therefore benefited from the direct comparison, while Håkedal / Tørlen had to assert themselves in the playoffs of the "lucky loser".

Group C
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Barnett / Cook	1.265	6: 1	6th
2.	Ana Paula / Larissa	1.122	4: 4	5
3.	Saka / Rtvelo	0.805	3: 5	4th
4th	Urjadowa / Schirjajewa	0.892	3: 6	3

August 9	Barnett / Cook	Urjadowa / Schirjajewa	2: 1
	Ana Paula / Larissa	Saka / Rtvelo	2: 1
August 11th	Barnett / Cook	Saka / Rtvelo	2-0
	Ana Paula / Larissa	Urjadowa / Schirjajewa	2: 1
13 August	Urjadowa / Schirjajewa	Saka / Rtvelo	1: 2
	Ana Paula / Larissa	Barnett / Cook	0: 2

The Australians Barnett / Cook had to go into the tie-break after a 21: 8 in the first set of the opening game against the Russian duo, but were able to assert themselves there. Then the Brazilian Larissa, who had formed a new duo with Ana Paula at short notice due to an injury to her actual partner Juliana, lost the first set against her compatriots playing for Georgia, but then the team number three prevailed. Saka / Rtvelo then lost to Barnett / Cook, while Ana Paula / Larissa turned another game against Urjadowa / Schirjajewa. On the last day of Group C, Saka / Rtvelo made it into the playoff round with a 2-1 win against the Russians. The Australians secured the group victory, winning both sets against Ana Paula / Larissa with 23:21.

Group D
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Xue Chen / Zhang Xi	1,324	6: 1	6th
2.	Goller / Ludwig	1.167	4: 2	5
3.	Koutroumanidou / Tsiartsiani	1.058	3: 4	4th
4th	Augoustides / Nel	0.540	0: 6	3

August 10	Goller / Ludwig	Augoustides / Nel	2-0
	Xue / Zhang Xi	Koutroumanidou / Tsiartsiani	2: 1
12. August	Koutroumanidou / Tsiartsiani	Augoustides / Nel	2-0
	Xue / Zhang Xi	Goller / Ludwig	2-0
August 14th	Xue / Zhang Xi	Augoustides / Nel	2-0
	Goller / Ludwig	Koutroumanido / Tsiartsiani	2-0

In Group D, the native German Judith Augoustides with her South African partner Nel had no chance in the opening game against the Chinese duo as in the two other games. The German champions Goller / Ludwig, who were also successful at the European Championships shortly before the Olympic Games, only had problems against the Greek team in the first set (24:22). Koutroumanidou / Tsiartsiani were also defeated by Xue / Zhang Xi, but thanks to the clear win against Augoustides / Nel they made it to the next round as third. After the final defeat against the Chinese, Goller / Ludwig qualified as second in the group for the round of 16.

Group E
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Branagh / Youngs	1.078	6: 1	6th
2.	Pohl / Rau	1.017	4: 2	5
3.	Ribalta / Crespo	1.111	3: 4	4th
4th	Kadijk / Moors	0.811	0: 6	3

August 9	Branagh / Youngs	Kadijk / Moors	2-0
	Pohl / Rau	Ribalta / Crespo	2-0
August 11th	Ribalta / Crespo	Kadijk / Moors	2-0
	Branagh / Youngs	Pohl / Rau	2-0
13 August	Branagh / Youngs	Ribalta / Crespo	2: 1
	Pohl / Rau	Kadijk / Moors	2-0

In Group E, the Americans Branagh / Youngs won the second set in the opening game against the Dutch women with 27:25 and had to break into the tie-break against the Cuban duo. Ultimately, however, they were undefeated. The Germans Pohl / Rau created a good starting position for their second Olympic participation with two victories against Ribalta / Crespo, who progressed as third in the group, and Kadijk / Mooren, so that they are no longer displaced from second place by the defeat against Branagh / Youngs could.

Group F.
space	team	BPQ	sentences	Points
1.	Talita / Renata	1.149	6: 1	6th
2.	Schwaiger / Schwaiger	1.152	4: 2	5
3.	Candelas / García	0.849	3: 5	4th
4th	Karadassiou / Arvaniti	0.912	1: 6	3

August 10	Karadassiou / Arvaniti	Schwaiger / Schwaiger	0: 2
	Talita / Renata	Candelas / Garcia	2: 1
12. August	Karadassiou / Arvaniti	Candelas / Garcia	1: 2
	Talita / Renata	Schwaiger / Schwaiger	2-0
August 14th	Talita / Renata	Karadassiou / Arvaniti	2-0
	Schwaiger / Schwaiger	Candelas / Garcia	2-0

The Schwaiger sisters from Austria won their opening game in Group F against the Greek duo and then lost to the Brazilians, who had previously defeated the Mexicans in three sets. Candelas / Garcia won their second tiebreak against Karadassiou / Arvaniti, but had to go into the playoff round after a clear defeat against the Austrians. Talita / Renata also remained undefeated against the Greeks.

Third party playoff games (Lucky loser)
August 14th	Van Breedam / Mouha	Saka / Rtvelo	2-0
	Håkedal / Tørlen	Candelas / Garcia	2: 1

In the first playoff game, the Belgians beat the Georgian Brazilians 21:13 and 21:19. Then the Norwegian duo managed to turn around after a 20:22 in the first set against the Mexicans and qualified for the round of 16.

Final round

In the round of 16 , the favorites Walsh / May-Treanor prevailed clearly against Van Breedam / Mouha after a difficult first set (24:22). Her compatriots Branagh / Youngs and the two Chinese duos also only needed two sets to reach the next round. Barnett / Cook and Talita / Renata, however, only won in the tie-break. The second Brazilian duo brought the Germans Pohl / Rau out with 21:18 and 21:14. In the German-Austrian duel between Goller / Ludwig and the Schwaiger sisters, the decision in favor of the Austrians was not made until 18:16 in the tiebreaker. The Germans, who clearly won the second round after 21:23 in the first set (21:11), awarded a match point. The Schwaiger sisters then had no chance in the quarterfinals against the number one seeded Chinese. The second Chinese duo reached the round of the last four as did the Brazilians Talita / Renata. Their compatriots Ana Paula / Larissa lost the top game against Walsh / May-Treanor in two sets. The Americans also dominated in the semifinals against Talita / Renata, while the Chinese duel became the longest game of the tournament. After more than an hour and two tight decisions in the first two sets (22:24, 29:27), Tian Jia / Wang won against Xue / Zhang Xi in the tie-break. The latter secured the bronze medal in the game for third place. Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won the two sets in the final 21:18 each, defending their 2004 title.

	Round of 16 August 15th					Quarterfinals August 17th					Semi-finals August 19th					Final August 21st
		Tian / Wang	2
		Håkedal / Tørlen	0
							Tian / Wang	2
							Schwaiger / Schwaiger	0
		Goller / Ludwig	1
		Schwaiger / Schwaiger	2
												Tian / Wang	2
											Xue / Zhang	1
		Branagh / Youngs	2
		Fernández G. / Larrea P.	0
							Branagh / Youngs	0
							Xue / Zhang	2
		Ribalta / Crespo	0
		Xue / Zhang	2
																	Tian / Wang	0
																Walsh / May-Treanor	2
		Barnett / Cook	2
		Koutroumanidou / Tsiartsiani	1
							Barnett / Cook	0
							Talita / Renata	2
		Maaseide / Glesnes	1
		Talita / Renata	2
												Talita / Renata	0
											Walsh / May-Treanor	2
		Ana Paula / Larissa	2
		Pohl / Rau	0
							Ana Paula / Larissa	0
															3rd place match
							Walsh / May-Treanor	2
		Van Breedam / Mouha	0													Xue / Zhang	2
		Walsh / May-Treanor	2														Talita / Renata	0

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rules of the Olympic qualification of the FIVB (PDF, English; 71 kB)
2. ↑ FIVB Press Release, FIVB announces final Olympic Ranking for men's and women's Olympic Beach Volleyball tournaments , July 24, 2008 (English)
3. ↑ detailed, sortable ranking list of qualifications ( memento of July 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
4. ↑ FIVB Press Release, FIVB confirms Preliminary Round pool composition for men's and women's Olympic Beach Volleyball Tournaments after Drawing of Lots in Gstaad , July 26, 2008 (English)
5. ↑ FIVB, Olympic Games - Beachvolleyball Media Guide (PDF, English; 2.9 MB)
6. ↑ Chaoyang-Park Beach Volleyball Ground ( Memento of the original from June 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
7. ↑ FIVB press release, Olympic Volleyball and Beach Volleyball tickets sell out months ahead of Beijing 2008 , 7 May 2008 (English)

Web links

• Beijing 2008 - Beach Volleyball (English)
• Information from the FIVB (English)
• Information from the DVV