Click here for Espinho 2007 Men's Open page
Renowned for its vast,
sun-kissed beaches and wonderful selection of seafood restaurants, Espinho is a
popular holiday town in Aveiro province that has developed a reputation as an
"excellent" venue for the SWATCH-FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for the past 12
seasons. The 2007
Praia da Baia stop
will again feature a double gender event as the women return to Espinho
after staging their 2006 Portuguese stop in the Madeira Islands at Porto Santo.
Reigning Olympic and World Champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri
Walsh of the United States won their first-ever SWATCH-FIVB World Tour Beach
Volleyball gold medal in 2001. Situated on Portugal's northwestern coast known as the
Costa Verde, Espinho is located 11 miles (18km) south of Porto. In addition to
the long stretch of golden sandy beach, Espinho has a a casino, bullfight ring,
a range of shops, restaurants, hotels and campsites. The town also boasts one
of the oldest golf courses in the world, dating from 1890.

Women
– After competing last season in the Madeira Islands, the women’s SWATCH-FIVB World Tour returns to Espinho to compete for the ninth-time for a gold medal on the
Praia
da Baia.
At the Porto Santo 2006 stop, Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca
captured the All-Brazilian finale by defeating rivals Renata Ribeiro and Talita
Antues in the final. China's Tian Jia and Wang Fei captured the 2006
Madeira Island bronze medal by defeating Helke Claasen and Antje Roder of
Germany in the third-place match. The Porto Santo "final four" appearance
was the first-ever SWATCH semi-final for Claasen and Roder. Women’s teams from the United States have won
six of the previous
gold medals on the Portugal coast, including five-straight as Olympic Champions
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won their first-ever FIVB title in Espinho. The win
by Brazilians Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva in 1996 was their first stop after
capturing the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. Ana Pereira and
Maria Jose Schuller
posted a 2000 Espinho seventh was the best finish by a Portugal team.
2005 Espinho podium
(left to right) Koutroumanidou, Tsiartsiani, May-Treanor, Walsh,
Juliana and Larissa |
Year – Espinho Gold Medal /
Espinho Silver Medal / Espinho Bronze Medal
1995
- Holly McPeak/Nancy
Reno, USA /
Linda Hanley/Angela
Rock, USA /
Sandra Pires/Jackie
Silva, Brazil
1996
- Sandra/Jackie, Brazil / /Monica
Rodrigues/Adriana
Samuel, Brazil /
Shelda Bede/Adriana
Behar, Brazil
1997
-
Adriana/Monica,
Brazil,
Shelda/Adriana,
Brazil /
Sandra/Jackie,
Brazil
1998
-
Barbra Fontana/Hanley,
USA /
Sandra/Adriana,
Brazil /
Reno/Elaine
Youngs, USA
1999
-
Annett Davis/Jenny
Johnson Jordan, USA / Natalie Cook/Kerri
Pottharst, Australia /
Liz Masakayan/Youngs, USA
2000
-
Masakayan/Youngs,
USA /
Lisa
Arce/Fontana,
USA / Cook/Pottharst,
Australia
2001
-
Misty May-Treanor/Kerri
Walsh, USA /
Shelda/Adriana,
Brazil / Fontana/Youngs, USA
2005 - May-Treanor/Walsh,
USA / Efthalia Koutroumanidou/Maria Tsiartsiani, Greece / Juliana Felisberta
Silva/Larissa Franca, Brazil
|