Shelda Bruno, dual world champion, and her sister Shaylyn Bruno, who won the U21 world championship in August, both featured in the main draw of the Brazilian World Tour, the last World Tour event of 2001.

The first encounter of the two sisters happened in October 2001, during the Fortaleza event of Banco do Brasil Circuit. Shelda and her partner Adriana won 2:0 (18-16, 18-14), but Shaylyn and her partner Tais gave it their best, taking the lead briefly in the second set. Shaylyn is partnering Maria Clara, who she won the U21 world championship with.

Shelda: "I am very happy that Shalyn will be playing on this last event of the Word Tour. If we have to play against each other, I am sure we will do it very professionally".

Shalyn: "Shelda has been my inspiration and she has helped me to get here. She watches my games and tell me what I am doing wrong. I'm very happy to compete in the same tournament with her. When we play against each other the family stays totally impartial. There is no support for one or another".

Shelda Bruno and Adriana Behar 

What a team - what a season 

Could it have been a better end of season for Brazilians Shelda and Adriana Behar? 

Going into the last event of the 2001 Beach Volleyball World Tour, with 3,642 points, they were 942 points clear of the second placed team, compatriots Sandra Pires and Tatiana Minello, and had already topped the World Tour rankings for a record fifth consecutive season. 

But a win in Fortazala held a special meaning for the dynamic duo, and especially for Shelda. 

Fortazela, situated 500 miles northwest of Recife on the Brazilian east coast, is Shelda's hometown, but a city where she had never won. To add even greater significance to the event, she was also to be joined for the first time on the World Tour by her sister, Shaylyn, who had won the U21 world championship in August, and was given a Wild Card to the event. 

It was also the first event of the season where her family and friends could watch from the stands, with all the extended family out in force to cheer them both across the line. 

"We want to leave Fortaleza with another title ...we really want to close the season with a gold and we will fight for that," said Shelda after the day before the final, giving forewarning to Holly McPeak and Kerri Walsh (USA).

It was all too much for Americans in the final - they simply did not have enough to take on both the world champions and the 5,000 parochial fans, giving Shelda/Adriana Behar a dream ending to the season, winning 2:0 (21-19, 22-20) in 48 minutes. 

"This is the first time I win in my home town. The support from the crowd was fantastic and we were glad to reward them with the title. Adriana and I had a very good season and to finish here with gold was the best we could imagine," said a delighted Shelda after the win. 

Of the twelve events this season, the Brazilian pair won seven, including their second consecutive world championship in Klagenfurt, Austria, on 5 August. They had four seconds and one third, their lowest finish for the season. 

The Fortaleza win, their twenty-seventh international title, also gave Shelda and Adriana Behar another record--that of being the winningest team in the FIVB World Tour history, with US$1,141,600 in career prize money. 

They bettered their performance of the 2000 season where they won four events and the Olympic silver medal. 

Shelda and Adriana Behar played their first tournament together in November 1995, where they finished seventh. They have since played in 63 tournaments on the FIVB World Tour, winning 27, and placing first, second or third in an incredible 80 percent of events entered on the World Tour. 

Between 1998 and 1999, they had a streak that took them to 12 victories from 13 events.