Fortaleza, Brazil, April 22, 2016 – Juliana Felisberta is sure to receive a warm welcome when she competes at the Fortaleza Open from April 26-May 1, with her home town fans out in force to cheer her on.
It is will be the Fortaleza-native’s third FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament of 2016 and the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball world champion will be aiming to win her first World Tour medal alongside new partner Taiana Lima.
The pair have already enjoyed some success on the Brazilian Beach Volleyball Tour and they know each other well having won the 2002 FIVB U21 Beach Volleyball World Championships together.
“I was born here, but it will be a new experience, in a new partnership and with a great desire to perform well,” Juliana said. “We are both happy to play with one another as a new team and hope to be competitive, but we might need a little time to develop our understanding.
New team
“We have already won some tournaments, but we feel we can still improve.”
The 32-year-old Juliana teamed up with Taiana at the start of the year and they have already featured in the World Tour at the Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam and the Maceio and Vitoria Opens.
For the past two years Juliana was paired with Maria Antonelli and they won bronze at the Netherlands 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. They also won two golds, five silver and one bronze on the World Tour together.
Before then she enjoyed a stellar career with Larissa Franca that culminated in a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games after also winning the 2011 world title and eight World Tour crowns.
However, she won’t be at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games after the two Brazilian berths went to Larissa and Talita Antunes and current world champions Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas.
“It took me a long time to get over it, but now my goal is to have a good World Tour,” Juliana said. “I have other things to concentrate on now and I want to form a competitive team with Taiana.
“The teams who were given the berths are very strong. Brazil are a strong candidate for gold in both the men and the women’s competitions and they have everything in their favour to win gold.”