The second double-gender in a row in Shanghai

SHANGHAI 2006 - Called in short in Chinese "Hu" or "Shen", Shanghai hosts a double gender SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event for the second-straight season as the country continues preparations for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.  Situated in the middle of China's east coastline, Shanghai has four distinct seasons and a population over 13 million.  Shanghai’s inhabitants are among the most hospitable and cheerful in the world and the city in which they live is both colorful and diverse. In addition to hosting a SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event for the second-straight year, Shanghai is noted for its many festivals, including the Shanghai Tourism Festival, the Longhua Temple Bell Striking on New Year’s Eve, the Longhua Temple Fair, the International Tea Culture Festival and the Orange Festival.  For shoppers, culinary connoisseurs and sight-seers, Shanghai is worth the visit, especially with China’s tallest building the Jim Mao Tower, which stands at 480 meters.  The Chinese city has often been referred to as a “shopping paradise” and all tastes are catered to in Shanghai.  Favorite foods from France, Russia, Italy, England, Japan and India will be found along with 16 styles of Chinese food that can be tasted in any of the 1,000-plus restaurants throughout the city.
 

Women - The women’s SWATCH-FIVB World Tour returns to Shanghai for the third-straight season as the international tour stages an event in China for the ninth-straight season.  Dalian hosted women’s stops three times where Brazil’s Adriana Behar/Shelda Bede (1998 and 1999) and Liz Masakayan/Elaine Youngs of the United States (2000) won gold medals.  Two Maoming stops saw Adriana/Shelda (2001) and Misty May/Kerri Walsh of the United States (2002) win titles.  The 2003 Lianyungang event was won by the Rebekka Kadijk and Marrit Leenstra for the Netherland’s only FIVB title.  The best finishes for women’s teams from China have been fourths by Rong Chi/Zi Xiong (2001 at Maoming), Lu Wang/Whenhui You (2004 at Shanghai) and Tian Jian/Wang Fei (2005 at Shanghai).

2005 Shanghai - All Brazilians (left to right) Adriana, Shelda, Juliana, Larissa, Shaylyn and Ana Paula

PAST CHINA WOMEN’S PODIUM PLACEMENTS

Total Medals - USA 9, Brazil 8, Australia 4, China 1, Germany 1, Netherlands 1

Men - With the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games looming, China hosts a men’s SWATCH-FIVB World Tour stop for the third-straight season.  Shanghai hosted the country’s first double-gender international Beach Volleyball event in 2005 where Germany’s Christoph Dieckmann and Andreas Scheuerpflug upset Olympic champions Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos in the finals.   The men’s first SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event in China in 2004 saw Javier Bosma and Pablo Herrera of Spain upset Emanuel and Ricardo in the finals at Lianyungang.  Three months later, the Brazilians defeated Bosma and Herrera for the Olympic gold medal in Athens.  The best finish by a Chinese team was a 17th in the 2004 Shanghai event by Penggen Wu and Rui Yin.

The 2005 Shanghai Men's Podium - Emanuel, Ricardo, Dieckmann, Scheuerpflug, Egger and Laciga

 PAST CHINA MEN’S PODIUM PLACEMENTS

Total Medals - Brazil 3, Germany 1, Spain 1, Switzerland 1