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Emanuel Edges Ricardo for Men's Olympic Beach Volleyball
MVP
 Athens,
Greece, August 27, 2004 - The balloting for the most
valuable player in the men's Beach Volleyball
competition at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games was far
closer than Wednesday's gold medal match as Brazil's
Emanuel Rego edged his partner Ricardo Santos for the
award in voting conducted by the FIVB with members of
the print and electronic media covering the event at the
10,000-seat Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre. Emanuel
scored 198 points while being named on 64 ballots to
finish four points ahead of Ricardo, who compiled 194
points while being named on 62 ballots by the print and
electronic media covering the 12-day event. For the
record, the gold medal finish was the first by a
Brazilian men's team after posting two ninths at the
1996 Games in Atlanta and a silver medal podium
placement at the Sydney 2000 Olympics where Ricardo
teamed with Ze Marco de Melo to claim the No. 2 spot.
Javier Bosma of Spain was third in the voting with 98
points with six first-place votes, 10 second places, six
thirds and four fourths. Other players receiving votes
were Stefan Kobel of Switzerland (76 total points),
Pablo Herrera of Spain (62), Patrick Heuscher of
Switzerland (56), Julien Prosser of Australia (32) and
Mark Williams of Australia (24).
More Pic: Brazil's Emanuel Rego,
Olympic MVP |
Top-Seeded Brazilians Earn Validation, Olympic Gold
Medal
 Athens,
Greece, August 25, 2004 - After two disappointing
Olympics, Emanuel Rego finally realized his "dreams" on
a sand court in Greece as he teamed with Ricardo Santos
to win a gold medal for Beach Volleyball power Brazil
here Wednesday before another sell-out at the Olympic
Beach Volleyball Centre. Seeded first in the 24-team for
the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Emanuel and Ricardo
scored a 21-16 and 21-15 win over Javier Bosma and Pablo
Herrera of Spain in 42 minutes to validate their
performance the past two seasons as the No. 1-ranked
team in the world.
More Pic: Brazil's Ricardo Santos and Emanuel
Rego celebrate claiming gold
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Top-Seeded Brazilians Seek Validation
 Athens,
Greece, August 25, 2004 - For Emanuel Rego and Ricardo
Santos of Brazil, it is about "validation" here
Wednesday evening as the No. 1-ranked team in the world
seeks the men's gold medal in Beach Volleyball at the
Athens 2004 Olympic Games. What are confronting the 2003
FIVB World Championships and the winners of 11 SWATCH-FIVB
World Tour gold medals the past two seasons are Spain's
Javier Bosma and Pablo Herrera, who qualified for the
Athens Summer Games as the 16th-ranked team on the
Olympic qualifying list.
More Pic:
Emanuel Rego (left) and Ricardo Santos of Brazil
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Spaniards Seek Golden Opportunity
 Athens,
Greece, August 23, 2004 - It is nothing new for veteran
Javier Bosma to play in "big" Beach Volleyball matches,
and now, his young Spanish partner Pablo Herrera is
quickly becoming accustomed to competing on the world's
largest stage for the sport. The Spaniards proved here
Monday for the sixth-straight time in the Athens 2004
Olympic Games why they belong in Wednesday's gold medal
match after winning the first men's semi-final match
Julien Prosser and Mark Williams of Australia.
More Pic:
Spain's Pablo Herrera spikes against Aussie Julien
Prosser
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Common Beach Volleyball Goal for Bosma, Emanuel &
Prosser
 Athens,
Greece, August 23, 2004 - Javier Bosma of Spain, Emanuel
Rego of Brazil and Julien Prosser of Australia all have
something in common entering tonight's men's Olympic
Beach Volleyball semi-finals at the Athens 2004 Games.
Bosma and Pablo Herrera play Prosser and Mark Williams
in the first men's semi-final match at 9 pm. while the
top-seeded Emanuel and Ricardo Santos are challenged at
10 pm by fifth-seeded Patrick Heuscher and Stefan
Kobel of Switzerland at the 10,000-seast Olympic Beach
Volleyball Centre. All three players are playing in
their third Olympic Beach Volleyball competition and
have not reached the podium. Bosma missed "final four"
appearances by placing fifth in both the 1996 Atlanta
and Sydney 2000 Games. For Bosma and Prosser, the
advancement to Monday semi-final against each other was
with young and talented partners. Emanuel is playing
with Ricardo Santos, who captured the silver medal at
the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with Ze Marco de Melo.
More Pic:
Spain's Pablo Herrera spikes against John Child of
Canada
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Spaniards Seek Golden Opportunity
Athens,
Greece, August 23, 2004 - It is nothing new for veteran
Javier Bosma to play in "big" Beach Volleyball matches,
and now, his young Spanish partner Pablo Herrera is
quickly becoming accustomed to competing on the world's
largest stage for the sport. The Spaniards proved here
Monday for the sixth-straight time in the Athens 2004
Olympic Games why they belong in Wednesday's gold medal
match after winning the first men's semi-final match
Julien Prosser and Mark Williams of Australia. With a
21-18 and 21-18 win in 45 minutes over the Aussies,
Bosma and Herrera earned a shot at a gold medal
Wednesday against top-seeded Emanuel Rego and Ricardo
Santos of Brazil at 9 p.m. The Brazilians advanced to
the finals with a 21-14, 19-21 and 15-12 victory in 60
minutes over fifth-seeded Patrick Heuscher and Stefan
Kobel of Switzerland. Ricardo now gets another shot at a
gold medal after losing the Sydney 2000 Olympic crown
with Ze Marco de Melo to the United States' Dain Blanton
and Eric Fonoimoana.
More Pic:
Spain's Pablo Herrera spikes against Aussie Julien
Prosser
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Common Beach Volleyball Goal for Bosma, Emanuel &
Prosser
Athens,
Greece, August 23, 2004 - Javier Bosma of Spain, Emanuel
Rego of Brazil and Julien Prosser of Australia all have
something in common entering tonight's men's Olympic
Beach Volleyball semi-finals at the Athens 2004 Games.
Bosma and Pablo Herrera play Prosser and Mark Williams
in the first men's semi-final match at 9 pm. while the
top-seeded Emanuel and Ricardo Santos are challenged at
10 pm by fifth-seeded Patrick Heuscher and Stefan
Kobel of Switzerland at the 10,000-seast Olympic Beach
Volleyball Centre. All three players are playing in
their third Olympic Beach Volleyball competition and
have not reached the podium. Bosma missed "final four"
appearances by placing fifth in both the 1996 Atlanta
and Sydney 2000 Games. For Bosma and Prosser, the
advancement to Monday semi-final against each other was
with young and talented partners. Emanuel is playing
with Ricardo Santos, who captured the silver medal at
the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with Ze Marco de Melo.
More Pic:
Spain's Pablo Herrera spikes against John Child of
Canada
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Emanuel
& Ricardo Cruise Into Olympic Semi-finals
 Athens,
Greece, August 22, 2004 – Playing probably their best
Beach Volleyball of the season, Emanuel Rego and Ricardo
Santos are again proving that they are the world’s best
men’s team as the Brazilians advanced to the semi-finals
of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games by eliminating the
third-seeded Laciga brothers of Switzerland. Seeded
first in the 24-team competition, Emanuel and Ricardo
scored a 21-13 and 21-16 win in 38 minutes over the
Lacigas (Martin and Paul). It was the second-straight
day the Lacigas had to play a Brazilian opponent as the
brothers eliminated second-seeded Benjamin Insfran and
Marcio Araujo Saturday. With the victory, Emanuel and
Ricardo now play fifth-seeded Patrick Heuscher and
Stefan Kobel of Switzerland at 10 p.m. Monday. Julien
Prosser and Mark Williams challenge Javier Bosma and
Pablo Herrera of Spain at 9 p.m. Monday.
More Pic:
Emanuel
of Brazil at the end line
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Prosser Erases Sydney Memories
 Athens,
Greece, August 22, 2004 - Four years ago in Sydney,
Australia's Julien Prosser was seeded first the 2000
Olympic Games and had the pressure of representing the
host country in the Beach Volleyball competition with
partner Lee Zahner. Prosser and Zahner dropped their
first match to a team from Mexico and eventually
finished ninth in the Sydney 2000 Games by winning two
elimination matches before being ousted by the Swiss
Laciga brothers. Four years later, Prosser is competing
in his third Olympics and now has a chance to play for a
medal after teaming with Mark Williams here Sunday to
score a 16-21, 21-19 and 15-10 win in 62 minutes over
Christoph Dieckmann and Andreas Scheuerpflug of German
to earn a spot in Monday's semi-finals.
More Pic:
Australia's Julien Prosser digs
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1996
Atlanta Bronze Winners at it Again
 Athens,
Greece, August 21, 2004 - Just when you think it is over the Canadian pair
of
John Child and Mark Heese will pull
another "surprise" as they did here Saturday night by
eliminating seventh-seeded Mariano Baracetti and Martin
Conde of Argentina from the Athens 2004 Olympic Games
Beach Volleyball competition. With a 21-17 and 21-17 win
in 42 minutes over the Argentineans, Child and Heese are
in position to play for another Olympic medal as
they compete for the third time in the Summer Games with
a bronze in 1996 and a fifth in 2000. Before the
Canadians think about playing for a medal, they must
first reach the semi-finals by defeating Javier Bosma
and Pablo Herrera. The Spaniards, who have won
four-straight matches this week with a win over the
third-seeded Laciga brothers of Switzerland, will face
Child and Heese at 11 p.m. Sunday.
More Pic:
Mark
Heese with the dig
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Swiss
Brothers Lacigas Nets First Brazilian Opponent
 Athens,
Greece, August 21, 2004 - In a match that was not
suppose to happen until the semi-finals, Saturday's
first-round Beach Volleyball confrontation between the
second- and third-seeded teams in the Athens 2004
Olympic Games saw the Laciga brothers of Switzerland
eliminate a medal favourite from Brazil. With both the
Lacigas (Martin and Paul) and the Brazilian team of
Benjamin Insfran/Marcio Araujo dropping pool play
matches to lose their third- and second-seeds,
respectively, the two SWATCH-FIVB World Tour powers had
to play against each other in the opening round of the
men's 16-team elimination bracket.
More Pic: Swiss Martin Laciga spikes against
Benjamin Isfran of Brazil
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After
Afternoon Upsets, Top Seeds Survive Evening Affairs
 Athens,
Greece, August 20, 2004 - After an afternoon session
where the fourth-seeded team of Markus Dieckmann and
Jonas Reckermann were upset, one figured that evening
session here Friday for men might feature another
seed-breakthrough. It almost happened as top-seeded
Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil were forced to
three-sets by Norwegians Vegard Hoidalen and Jorre
Kjemperud before prevailing 21-15, 19-21 and 15-6 in 57
minutes during the opening rounds of the elimination
bracket at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
Winners of 11 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour events the past two
seasons, Emanuel and Ricardo will play the winner of the
match between second-seeded Benjamin Insfran/Marcio
Araujo of Brazil or the third-seeded Laciga brothers
(Martin and Paul) of Switzerland. Fifth-seeded Patrick
Heuscher and Stefan Kobel of Switzerland opened the
session under lights at the Olympic Beach Volleyball
Complex with a 21-18 and 21-19 win over Joao Brenha and
Luis Maia of Portugal.
More Pic:
Portugal's Luis Maia |
USA's
Holdren & Metzger Upset European Champions
 Athens,
Greece, August 20, 2004 - After losing their last two
games in pool play, it did not look good for the United
States' Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger as they entered
their Round of 16 match in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games
against fourth-seeded Markus Dieckmann and Jonas
Reckermann of Germany. Despite losing a match in their
pool, the Germans finished as the top team in their
group and were considered one of the pre-Olympic
favourites after winning an event this season on the
SWATCH-FIVB World Tour along with five "final four"
finishes.
More Pic: Stein Metger and Daxton Holdren
(USA) celebrate
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Not Just Another Draw
 Athens,
Greece, August 20, 2004 - A potential semi-final match
will happen two rounds earlier than expected as a pair
of pool defeats have altered the Round of 16 lineup for
the men's Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Saturday's 3:30
p.m. match between second-seeded Benjamin Insfran and
Marcio Araujo of Brazil and the third-seeded Laciga
brothers (Martin and Paul) of Switzerland was projected
as a potential semi-final meeting Monday.
More Pic: Benjamin Isfran from Brazil receives
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Germans & Brazil Advance Four Teams
 Athens,
Greece, August 19, 2004 - The Beach Volleyball
competition features both men's and women's competition
and Germany joined Brazil as the only countries
advancing four teams each to the elimination rounds of
the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
More
Pic: Florian Gosch (AUT) attacks against Martin
Laciga (SUI)
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South Africa Advancement Highlights Tuesday's
Pool Play Action
 Athens,
Greece, August 18, 2004 - Earning a spot in the
Olympics was one thing for Colin Pocock and
Gerson Rorich, but advancing from pool play in
the Athens 2004 OIympic Games was another as the
South African's win highlighted play here
Wednesday at the Olympic Beach Volleyball
Complex. Earning a berth at the final Olympic
qualifying event last month in Mallorca, Pocock
and Rorich posted the biggest upset of the pool
play competition by scoring a 22-20 and 22-20
win in 49 minutes over Joao Brenha and Luis Maia,
the fourth-place finishers at both the 1996 and
2000 Olympic Games. With Tuesday's win over the
Portugal pair along with Saturday's opening win
over Pavlos Beligratis and Thanassis
Michalopoulos of Greece, Popock and Rorich
advance as the No. 2 team from Pool F. Mariano
Baracetti and Martin Conde of Argentina, the
2001 FIVB World Champions.
More
Pic: South Africans celebrate
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Veteran Maaseide Spoils Luster of
Championship Rematch
 Athens,
Greece, August 17, 2004 - Leave it to veteran
Bjorn Maaseide to ambush a good storyline for
the media here Tuesday as he teamed with fellow
Norwegian Iver Horrem to post a three-set
victory over Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger of
the United States in a Pool A match at the
Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The Americans
end Pool A Thursday against Emanuel Rego and
Ricardo Santos of Brazil, the team that defeated
Holdren and Metzger for the 2003 FIVB World
Championship in Rio de Janeiro last October. The
two teams play at 8 p.m. with the Brazilians
leading 2-1 in the series. Maaseide, who
is retiring from the beach game after the
Olympics, and Horrem scored a 14-21, 21-15 and
16-14 win in 61 minutes over Holdren and Metzger
to deny the Americans a chance of clinching a
spot in the 16-team elimination bracket.
More
Pic: Bjorn Maaseide against the Americans
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Three 2-0 Men’s Pool Teams
 Athens,
Greece, August 15, 2004 – Teams from Argentina,
Germany and Switzerland scored wins here Monday
to improve their pool play records to 2-0 to
move closer to the 16-team elimination rounds of
the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Beach Volleyball
Competition.
Led by 2004
European Champions Markus Dieckmann and Jonas
Reckermann, the three teams along with nine
other tandems in Pools D, E and F end their
preliminary matches Wednesday while men’s Pools
A, B and C conclude Thursday at the 10,000-seat
Olympic Beach Volleyball Complex. Other
teams with 2-0 marks are Switzerland’s Patrick
Heuscher and Stefan Kobel and
Mariano Baracetti and Martin
Conde of Argentina.
More
Pic:
Patrick Heuscher
of Switzerland digs the Mikasa
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Men's Top Seeds Post Successful Beach
Volleyball Start
Athens, Greece, August 15, 2004 - Led by the
Brazilian pairs of Emanuel Rego/Ricardo Santos
and Benjamin Insfran/Marcio Araujo, the top
three-seeded teams in the men's Beach Volleyball
competition of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games
posted wins here Sunday. Top-seeded Emanuel and
Ricardo had the toughest test among the top
three ranked teams as the Brazilians posted a
21-15, 19-21 and 15-10 win in a 62-minute Pool A
match over Norway's Iver Horrem and Bjorn
Maaseide. The second-seeded Benjamin and Marcio
Araujo had an easier time with their Pool B
match by besting Stephane Canet and Mathieu
Hamel of France 21-13 and 21-14 in 43 minutes.
The third-seeded Laciga brothers (Martin and
Paul) opened Sunday competition with a 21-14 and
21-14 victory over Robert Nowotny and Peter
Gartmayer of Austria in Pool C.
More
Pic: Brazil's Benjamin Insfran (right) receives
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Action-Packed Pool F Highlights Saturday's Play
 Athens,
Greece, August 14, 2004 – If you were looking
for exciting action here Saturday during the
opening men’s pool play match in the Athens 2004
Olympic Games, it was in Pool F where Argentina
and South Africa posted wins at the Olympic
Beach Volleyball Centre. The best men’s
match of the day featured Thanassis
Michalopoulos and Pavlos Beligratis of Greece
against Colin Pocock and Gershon Rorich of South
Africa as the two teams delighted the host
country crowd with a three-setter in 78 minutes.
Representing both their country in the continent
of Africa for the first-time in the Olympic
Beach Volleyball competition, Pocock and Rorich
scored a 21-16, 24-26 and 15-10 win for only
their sixth win in 21 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour
matches this season. With the win, the
South Africans now face Mariano Baracetti and
Martin Conde of Argentina Monday at 2:30 p.m.
The 2001 FIVB World Champions, Baracetti and
Conde also won a three-setter by defeating Joao
Brenha and Luis Maia of Portugal 13-21, 21-16
and 15-5 in 57 minutes.
More
Pic: Gershon Rorich (right) of South Africa
hits against Thanassis Michalopoulos of Greece
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European champions impressive in opening match
 Athens, Greece, August 14,
2004 – Germany’s
Markus Dieckmann and Jonas Reckermann proved
here Saturday morning in their first Athens 2004
Olympic Game match why they are the 2004
European Champions as they scored a convincing
opening win at the Olympic Beach Volleyball
Centre.
Competing as the
top seeded team in Pool D of the men’s
competition, Dieckmann and Reckermann scored a
21-14 and 21-13 win in 40 minutes over Ramon
Hernandez and Raul Papaleo of Puerto Rico.
With the win, the Germans
will now play Bjorn Berg and Simon Dahl Monday
at 8 a.m. The Swedes scored a 21-13 and 21-18
win over Vergard Hoidalen and Jorre Kjemperud of
Norway in Saturday’s first-ever Olympic match at
the 10,000-seat stadium within the Faliro
Coastal Zone Olympic Complex.
More
Pic: Jonas Reckermann of Germany
congratulates partner Markus Dieckmann
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Men’s Olympic Beach Volleyball Opens Saturday
 Athens,
Greece, August 13, 2004 – The third edition of
Olympic Beach Volleyball begins here Saturday
with Sydney 2000 gold medallist Dain Blanton of
the United States headlining the opening day
men’s field along with two of Europe’s top teams
and the 2001 FIVB World Champions Mariano
Baracetti and Martin Conde of Argentina.
After Friday’s technical meeting Friday at the
Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre in the
municipality of Kallithea within the Faliro
Coastal Zone Olympic Complex, half of the men’s
24-team field will be in action Saturday with
six matches during the three sessions at the
10,000-seat venue.
More Pic:
2001
FIVB World Champion Martin Conde (left) and
Mariano Baracetti of Argentina
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Athens 2004 Olympic Men’s
Beach Volleyball Competition Starts Saturday
 Athens, Greece, August 12,
2004 – The men’s
Olympic Beach Volleyball competition at the
Athens 2004 Games begin here Saturday as the
24-team field participates in a technical
meeting Friday at the Olympic Beach Volleyball
Centre in the municipality of Kallithea within
the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex.
The first six days of competition
features six pools of four teams each to
determine the 16-team single-elimination
bracket. The men’s completion concludes August
25 with the medal matches as the United States’
Dain Blanton is in the field after winning the
Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medal with Eric
Fonoimoana.
More Pic: USA's Dain Blanton during the
Austrian Open
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Austria Replaces Doppler with Gosch
 Athens,
Greece, August 11, 2004 - Due to a left knee
injury three weeks ago in France, Clemens
Doppler of Austria will forgo the Athens 2004
Games Beach Volleyball competition as his
Olympic-qualifying partner of Nikolas Berger
will now play with Florian Gosch.
More Pic: Florian Gosch of Austria
receives during the Puerto Rico Open
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Defending champions headline opening day as
schedule confirmed
 Lausanne, Switzerland, August 04, 2004 - Three
of the four Olympic champions from Sydney 2000
will feature on the opening day the 2004 Olympic
Games Beach Volleyball competition in Athens
following confirmation of the order of play from
the International Volleyball Federation and
ATHOC on Wednesday.
More
Competition schedule
Olympic Draw Pic: Olympic gold
medallists Dain Blanton (with mic), Kerri-Ann
Pottharst (left) and Natalie Cook at the Drawing
of Lots ceremony in Austria
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Brazilians Net Top-Two Men's Seeds
 KLAGENFURT,
AUSTRIA, July 31, 2004 - For Brazil's Ricardo
Santos, it will be another chance for an Olympic
medal. For Emanuel Rego, Ricardo's partner, it
will be his third attempt for an Olympic medal.
For Brazilians' Benjamin Insfran and Marcio
Araujo, it will be their first Olympic experience.
More
Olympic Draw
Photo Gallery Pic: FIVB General Manager
Mr. Jean-Pierre Seppey with the Governor of
Carinthia Jorg Haider at the Olympic Games
Drawing of Lots ceremony
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FIVB officially announces
teams for Athens
Lausanne, Switzerland, July 23, 2004 - As per
FIVB-IOC Olympic Qualification regulations, the
FIVB is pleased to announce the Official Olympic
Ranking for the 24 men’s teams and the 24
women’s teams selected to participate in the
Beach Volleyball Tournaments of the 2004 Olympic
Games in Athens.
More
Men's Official Olympic Rankings
Women's Official Olympic Rankings
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More Beach Volleyball
Olympic News
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Pool A
