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HAMBURG, Germany, June 12, 2016 - For the first-time in the
Olympic history, Mexico will be represented by both a Beach
Volleyball and Volleyball team in the Summer Games after Juan
Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros won a pair of matches here Friday
over teams from Brazil and Latvia to move into the top 15 pairs
on the Rio provisional ranking list ahead of a German tandem.
Seeded 15th in the last qualifying event on the FIVB World Tour
for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Virgen and Ontiveros posted wins
Friday over 19th-seeded Alvaro Filho/Vitor Felipe of Brazil 2-0
(21-9, 21-16) in 38 minutes and 26th-seeded qualifiers Martins
Plavins/Haralds Regza of Latvia 2-0 (21-18, 21-19) in 34
minutes.
With the two wins, the Mexicans improved their Rio Olympic
qualifying total to 4,670 points for their best 12 finishes at
FIVB World Tour stops or continental championships since the
start of the process.
The reigning Pan American champions, Virgen and Ontiveros had to
win both matches Friday to secure their “beach chairs” on
Copacabana as the Mexicans were competing with two German pairs
for the final spot from the international circuit for Rio.
“It has been a long and stressful journey” said the 32-year old
Ontiveros. “To join our indoor team in Rio is significant for
the development of Volleyball and Beach Volleyball in our
country. I am so thankful right now. It is hard to describe my
emotions right now. Despite the stress of the last month, it
has been a wonderful experience to finally reach the ultimate
goal in playing in the Olympics for Mexico.” |
