In the London 2012 Olympic Games, having missed out narrowly on a spot, Vanuatu’s Miller Elwin and Henriette Iatika are about to take the first steps in what they hope will culminate in a place at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.
They only missed out on a place in the London Olympics after losing to China in the quarterfinals of the Confederation Cup and the aim is now to build on their current form to ensure they compete on Copacabana Beach, where the beach volleyball will be played in 2016. The pair was semifinalists in the fifth leg of the Australian National Beach Volleyball Series which finished on Sunday in Adelaide.
“We cracked the top 10 last year with our best results and we’ve just got a silver medal podium finish in Asia,” their coach Lauren McLeod told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio. “The girls have come a long way from about 350th since 2009 and now they’re up there with the best of the best.”
This year the overriding aim for the pair is to qualify for the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships that will take place in Stare Jablonki, Poland from July 1 to 7. They will begin their season in China, at the Beijing and Shanghai Grand Slams before eventually following the Tour to Europe.
“We’ve come back to the drawing board this year and now we are looking to start up again and source some new sponsors and really push the program forward with the World Championships and the future goal of getting the girls to Rio.”
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