Larissa França

Larissa França
França at the Grand Slam Moscow on September 3, 2012
Personal information
Nickname	Larissa
Born	April 14, 1982 Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, ES, Brazil
Hometown	Fortaleza, Brazil
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	68 kg (150 lb)
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
Years Teammate 2014-present Talita Antunes
Previous teammates
Years Teammate 2004-12 2002-03 Juliana Silva Ana Richa
Honours Women's beach volleyball Representing  Brazil Olympic Games 2012 London Beach World Championships 2011 Rome Beach 2005 Berlin Beach 2009 Stavanger Beach 2007 Gstaad Beach Pan American Games 2007 Rio de Janeiro Beach 2011 Guadalajara Beach 2003 Santo Domingo Beach World Tour Finals 2015 Fort Lauderdale Beach

Larissa França (born April 14, 1982 in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim) is a female beach volleyball player from Brazil. She is the all-time leader of beach volleyball titles, with 57 FIVB career gold medals, including the 2011 Beach Volleyball World Championships with Juliana Felisberta and the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour with Talita Antunes.^[1]

Career

With Juliana, Larissa won two Pan American Games titles – 2007 and 2011 - ^[2] and the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[3] Four years prior, Larissa had to play the 2008 Summer Olympics with Ana Paula Connelly following an injury to Juliana, finishing in fifth place. Before, she had won the bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, partnering Ana Richa.

After a brief two year retirement following the 2012 Olympics, Larissa went back to activity in 2014 in a double with Talita Antunes. The duo went on to win the gold medal at the 2015 Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals and earn a spot into the 2016 Summer Olympics.^[4]

The pair participated in the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio. The pair won their quarter final match against The Swiss team of Joana Heidrich and Nadine Zumkehr in a nail biting match of 3 sets (21-23, 27-25, 15-13) in the quarter final Played August 14, 2016.^[5]

The pair lost in straight sets to Ludwig and Walkenhosrt in the Semi Final match. Next they go for Bronze.^[6] The pair lost to the United States team of April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings in 3 sets of (21–17, 17–21, 9–15), they finished 4th.

Personal life

Larissa was born in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, and moved at a young age to the state of Pará. A sports enthusiast from a young age, she earned a volleyball scholarship in high school and went on to start her professional career at Tuna Luso Brasileira. She moved to beach volleyball in 2001, following an event held by the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation in Fortaleza.^[7]

On August 2013, Larissa married fellow female player Liliane Maestrini,^[8] about one month after they came out about their relationship.^[9]

References

1. "Larissa named top player of World Tour 2015". FIVB. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
2. "SI". sportsillustrated.cnn.com.
3. "Beach volleyball women's results - London 2012 Olympics". Olympic.org.
4. "Ft. Lauderdale Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals - Match Schedule / Results". FIVB.
5. http://www.fivb.org/en/BeachVolleyball/viewPressRelease.asp?No=64335&Language=en
6. Ludwig & Walkenhorst dominate Brazilians for golden Beach berth
7. Larissa França: rainha das quadras de areia, Diário do Pará (Portuguese)
8. "Larissa e Lili, do vôlei de praia, se casam em praia de Fortaleza com vestido branco e buquê" (in Portuguese). Jornal Extra Online. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
9. "Larissa França: I am gay". Volleywood. Retrieved 28 August 2013.

External links

• Larissa França at the FIVB
• Larissa França at the Beach Volleyball Database