The last Grand Slam of the year in Klagenfurt

Women - After Adriana Behar and Shelda Behar captured their second FIVB World Championship in 2001 in Klagenfurt, the United States captured the last four Austrian gold medals.  Kerri Walsh has been part of the winning team each time with Misty May (2002, 2003 and 2005) and Rachel Wacholder (2004).  Shelda, who missed the 2005 Klagenfurt stop with injuries, and Adriana have collected four Klagenfurt medals along with $114,000 in Austrian earnings.  The best finish by an Austrian team in the four previous Klagenfurt events have been 17ths, including Christine Mellitzer/Sabine Swoboda in 2001, Barbara Hansel/Sara Montagnolli and Doris/Stefanie Schwaiger in 2004, and Chrisi Gschweidl/Hansel and the Schwaigers in 2005.

2005 Klagenfurt podium (left to right) Elaine Youngs, Rachel Wacholder, Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh, Wang Fei and Tian Jia

Men - The “premiere” stop on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour, the Lake Wörthersee SWATCH stop is the fourth and final grand slam event of the 2006 season.  Germany’s Christoph Dieckmann and Andreas Scheuerpflug upset Brazilian Olympic champions Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos in the 2005 finale to mark the first-time that a country outside of South America claimed the Klagenfurt men’s gold medal.  A 2001 FIVB World Championship victory for Argentina’s Mariano Baracetti and Martin Conde was the only gold medal finish for a country other than Brazil in Austria.  Emanuel, who has captured five Klagenfurt gold medals with three different partners and $106,000 in earnings, is one of 14 players that have competed in all nine events on Lake Wörthersee.  Others are Conde ($42,650), Baracetti ($41,350), Jorre Kjemperud, Norway ($32,700), Vegard Hoidalen, Norway ($30,325), Martin Laciga, Switzerland ($25,375), Paul Laciga, Switzerland ($24,625), Markus Egger, Switzerland ($24,100), Nikolas Berger, Austria ($21,350), Julien Prosser, Australia ($19,700), Mark Heese, Canada ($19,000), Robert Nowotny, Austria ($12,375), Paul Schroffenegger, Austria ($5,200) and Thomas Schroffenegger, Austria ($5,200).  Berger and Clemens Doppler finished fifth in both 2002 and 2003.  The Schroffeneggers are only team to compete in all nine Klagenfurt events together.

The 2005 A1 podium (left to right), Emanuel, Ricardo, Scheuerpflug, Dieckmann, Fabio and Marcio Araujo