It has been one of the longest and most productive partnerships in international Beach Volleyball but heading into 2004 Adriana Brandão Behar and Shelda Kelly Bruno Bede have experienced some frustrating times.

The two Brazilian stars, who paired up in 1995-96, are two-time reigning world champions, 2000 Olympic Games silver medalists and FIVB World Tour champions for five consecutive years (from 1997-2001) but in 2003 injury and bad luck saw them complete the season without a tournament title to their name.

Few other teams can match them for the consistency and longevity they have shown since joining the World Tour with 29 World Tour victories over eight years. They have more than 700 victories and 93 titles in a partnership spanning seven years (the anniversary of the pair is October 11) including two World Championship titles in 2001 and 1999. 

Adriana is recognized as one of the biggest players in Beach in Brazil while Shelda’s nickname of “the cat” is a reflection of her feline tendencies cleaning up in the back court. And despite last year’s disappointing results the two Rio de Janeiro stars, who finished third on the 2003 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour rankings, are still expected to threaten again in 2004 and be one of the main contenders for gold at Athens.