Vargas, Venezuela, April 28, 2014 – Argentina’s women and Venezuela’s men have taken gold in the fourth stage of qualifiers for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.

The women’s duo of Camila Hiruela/Irene Verasio were the first Argentinians to win a qualification stage for Nanjing 2014 after defeating the duo from Ecuador Carolina Mishelle Pacheco Molina/Valeria Briggite Batioja Ocampo in the final 2-0 (21-19, 21-15 ).

“We only recently started playing this sport,” said Hiruela. “The truth is that we still cannot believe what has happened. We are very happy and will keep practicing to improve."

Her partner Irene Verasio also expressed her delight at getting to this stage. "This is a beautiful experience and it's something you cannot live every day,” said Verasio. “But with heart and desire it is possible to have this major achievement."

Paraguay’s Michelle Brave/Maria Johana Ocampos won third place after beating Venezuela’s Adriana Monasterios/Celeinis Bernal 2-1 (18-21, 21-14, 15-4). The Paraguayan duo reached the semifinals undefeated but fell to Hiruela/Verasio 2-1 (21-7,14-21,12-15).

The Venezuelan duo of José Gomez/Rolando Hernandez continued their winning streak to defeat Uruguay’s Mauritius Vieyto Sebastian Acosta/Marco Cairus Lucarelli 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) in the gold medal match to win their second consecutive championship.

Following their victory, Gomez said, "First of all I would like to thank God for the victory, the Ministry of Sport, the Venezuelan Federation of Volleyball, the coaching staff and the whole country for supporting us."

He also made mention of a larger goal. "Another thing that awaits us is qualification for the Youth Olympic Games. Once this happens we can turn our focus fully on the Youth Olympic Games. This is something that we have talked about to all the coaches so that we can have strong mental preparedness and focus on one goal - an Olympic medal."

Rolando Hernandez also expressed his joy at winning. "I am very happy with my partner and would like to thank God for the victory today. The expectations are the same. Now we're going to Peru in order to get our ticket to the Youth Olympic Games," he concluded.

Argentina’s Santiago Gazaba/Exequiel Yacob took the third sport in the fourth stage of the Nanjing 2014 qualifiers after beating Luis Alberto Bramont-Arias/Jimy Stiven Vasquez Heredia 2-0 (24-22, 21-12).

WOMEN'S COMPETITION

Semifinals

Argentina d. Paraguay 2-1 (7-21, 21-14, 15-12)
Ecuador d. Venezuela 2-0 (21-19, 21-11)

Third place

Paraguay d. Venezuela 2-1 (18-21, 21-14, 15-4)

Final

Argentina d. Ecuador 2-0 (21-19, 21-15)

Classification

1 – Argentina
2 - Ecuador
3 - Paraguay
4 - Venezuela
5 - Bolivia
6 - Uruguay
7 - Peru

MEN’S COMPETITION

Semifinals

Peru d. Venezuela - 2-0 (21-13, 21-15)
Argentina d. Uruguay - 2-1 ( 21-15, 18-21, 15-9)

Third place

Argentina d. Peru - 2-0 (24-22, 21-12)

Final

Uruguay d. Venezuela - 2-0 (21-15, 21-19)

Classification

1 – Venezuela
2 – Uruguay
3 – Argentina
4 – Peru
5 – Paraguay

Download highresolution