Talita Antunes

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Talita Antunes
Grand Slam Moscow 2011, Set 1 - 055.jpg
Antunes in 2011
Personal information
Full nameTalita Antunes da Rocha
NicknameTalita
Born (1982-08-29) August 29, 1982 (age 39)
Aquidauana, MS, Brazil
HometownRio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight64 kg (141 lb)
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
Teammate
Larissa França
Previous teammates
Teammate Tours (points)

Tatiana Minello
Tais Jesus
Renata Ribeiro
1 (27)
1 (18)
1 (-)
hide
Honours
Women's beach volleyball
Representing  Brazil
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Stavanger Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Vienna Beach
World Tour Finals
Gold medal – first place 2015 Fort Lauderdale Beach

Talita Antunes da Rocha (born August 29, 1982) is a Brazilian beach volleyball player, playing as a blocker.[1] She was FIVB rookie of the year in 2005, and World Tour Winner twice, in 2013 and 2015.

Career[]

Born in Aquidauana, Antunes caught the attention of Olympic Champion Jackie Silva at the age of 19. From the first time they played together, in Maceió in 2001, Jackie was impressed with Antunes' style and invited the young player to partner with her in 2002. The pair won the South American Championship in La Paz, Bolívia 2002.

After Silva was injured, Talita continued the 2002 season with Renata Ribeiro as her new partner. They won the championships in the Challenger Banco do Brasil in Natal and they were runners-up in the games held in Rio and Recife. In 2003, she was again champion in Goiânia do Circuito Banco do Brasil, this time with a new partner, . She also partnered with on the Italian Circuit, ranking fourth overall. In 2005, she resumed her partnership with Ribeiro and was voted FIVB World Tour rookie of the year. Their partnership won them several competitions and they became one of the top-ranking teams in the world tour. In 2008, Talita was crowned Queen of the Beach in Brazil. In that same year, Talita and Renata represented Brazil in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They finished fourth after losing a hard-fought Bronze Medal Match to the Chinese Team.

In 2009, Talita forged a new partnership with Maria Elisa Antonelli. They won gold in the 2009 Swatch FIVB World Tour in China, South Korea, Switzerland, and Norway. They also won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships in Stavanger, Norway. Their strong partnership landed Talita and Maria 1st overall ranking in the 2009 Brazilian Beach Volleyball Circuit and 2nd overall ranking in the 2009 World Ranking. Talita and Maria Elisa went to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but were upset in the round of 16 by a Czech double.

Talita Antunes at the 2012 Moscow Grand Slam.

After the Olympics, Talita partnered with and won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for the first time in 2013. The following year, Larissa França, a former world champion who won bronze in London, signed to form a partnership with Talita aiming the 2016 Summer Olympics Brazil would host in Rio de Janeiro.[2] Larissa and Talita were World Tour champions and Team of the Year in 2015, and were deemed favorites for the Olympic gold.[3] Talita got to her second Olympic semifinal after a hard-fought win over the Swiss team of Joana Heidrich and Nadine Zumkehr in the quarterfinals,[4] but went on to lose 2–0 to the Germans Ludwig and Walkenhosrt in the semi final.[5] April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings (the latter of whom also beat Talita in the 2008 semifinal) then won the bronze medal over the team in 3 sets.

Personal life[]

Talita is married to Renato França, who coaches male beach volleyball squad Pedro Solberg and Evandro Oliveira.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Dorfman, Blake (August 6, 2016). "The Toughest Challenges for Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross in Rio". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  2. ^ Carol Fontes (17 June 2016). "Larissa volta a jogar e fecha parceria com Talita em busca do ouro em 2016". Grupo Globo. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  3. ^ Roy Tomizawa (21 July 2016). "Rio's Golden Favorites: Women's Brazilian Beach Volleyball". Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Swiss Strong, Brazilians Better" (Press release). FIVB. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Ludwig & Walkenhorst dominate Brazilians for golden Beach berth". 16 August 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Técnico de Solberg, marido de Talita: trabalho em 1º lugar pelo pódio no Rio". Grupo Globo. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2018.

External links[]

Sporting positions
Preceded by
 Larissa França and
Juliana Silva (BRA)
Women's FIVB Beach World Tour Winner
alongside Brazil

2013
Succeeded by
 Maria Antonelli and
Juliana Silva (BRA)
Preceded by
 Maria Antonelli and
Juliana Silva (BRA)
Women's FIVB Beach World Tour Winner
alongside Brazil Larissa França

2015
Succeeded by
 Laura Ludwig and
Kira Walkenhorst (GER)
Preceded by
 Laura Ludwig and
Kira Walkenhorst (GER)
Women's FIVB Beach World Tour Winner
alongside Brazil Larissa França

2017
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by
 Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Blocker"
2013
Succeeded by
 Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)
Preceded by
 Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Hitter"
2013–2015
Succeeded by
 Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)
Preceded by
 Juliana Silva (BRA)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Attacker"
2013
Succeeded by
 Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)
Preceded by
 Larissa França and
Juliana Silva (BRA)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Team of the Year"
alongside Brazil

2013
Succeeded by
 Juliana Silva and
Maria Antonelliq (BRA)
Preceded by
 Maria Antonelli and
Juliana Silva (BRA)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Team of the Year"
alongside Brazil Larissa França

2015
Succeeded by
 Laura Ludwig and
Kira Walkenhorst (GER)
Preceded by
 Laura Ludwig and
Kira Walkenhorst (GER)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Team of the Year"
alongside Brazil Larissa França

2017
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Inaugural
Women's FIVB World Tour "Top Rookie"
2005
Succeeded by
 Xue Chen (CHN)
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