Ricardo Santos

Ricardo Alex Costa Santos ( born January 6, 1975 in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil) is a Brazilian beach volleyball player. He won all the Olympic medals, was world champion and three times Vice World Champion.

Career

1995 Ricardo Santos played his first FIVB tournament. In 1998 he won with his partner Zé Marco his first two events of the World Series, in 1999 doubled the Brazilians their successes and Ricardo was in 2000 with his partner after five wins for the first time Tour champion of the FIVB. In the same year they won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. 2001 Ricardo was with his new partner Jose Loiola Vice World Champion in Klagenfurt and won the Goodwill Games in Brisbane, which were held for the last time. In the two years of their collaboration, the South Americans won four more tournaments in the FIVB World Tour.

Ricardo joined the end of 2002, in turn, his partner. With Emanuel Rego reach the greatest success. Ricardo / Emanuel were awarded in the 2003 and 2007 FIVB tour champions and were three times as the FIVB Team of the Year. In 2003 they won the Brazilians the gold medal in the beach volleyball World Cup in their home country in Rio de Janeiro. A year later, they crowned her career with the Olympic gold medal in Athens. In 2007, she won the Pan American Games.

This success could not be repeated in Beijing in 2008. After the defeat in the semi-final against their compatriots Márcio Araújo / Fabio Luiz Magalhaes, Ricardo / Emanuel won the game against the Brazilian Georgians Geor / Gia and brought bronze. Ricardo has won so all three Olympic medals. Your last joint success achieved Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos in the capital of their homeland, as they decided in 2009 the Brasília Open for themselves. This was the 33rd joint success in tournaments in the world series; so many victories achieved no other duo in the Tour.

2010

Ricardo initially denied three tournaments of the World Tour 2010 with Pedro Salgado, but moved to the commonly reached fifth place at the Brasilia Open again the partners and playing together in Rome with Márcio Araújo since the tournament. After a successful start with a fifth place also it took until the tournament in Gstaad, before Santos Araújo and together were able to win a medal for the first time. After a three-set defeat to the Germans Koreng / Klemperer, the two Brazilians won the game for third place. Having dispensed in Marseille for a start, reached the two South Americans in the following four events respectively the semi-finals. While they lost the last two games in Klagenfurt and Kristiansand and finished fourth, they decided at the Grand Slam in Stare Jabłonki after the defeat in the semifinal of the game for third place against Klemperer and Koreng for themselves. Even better, it ran for Ricardo and Marcio Araujo at the Åland Open, where they were defeated only in the finale of Rogers and Dalhausser.

2011

To kick off the World Tour 2011 Ricardo and Márcio Araújo finished fourth in Brasília. In Prague, they were fifth, while they failed in the Grand Slam in Beijing at the hitherto reigning world champions Brink / Recker man in the second round. At the 2011 World Championships in Rome, they won their preliminary round group with two wins. In the following four games of the knockout stage they gave only against the German duo Dollinger / Windscheif from a set, before they lost in the final Ricardos former teammate Emanuel Rego and his new partner, Alison. At the Grand Slam in Stavanger, it was the first FIVB tournament win for Ricardo / Márcio Araújo. The end of July they separated and Ricardo then played with Pedro Cunha. Ricardo / Cunha started with tournament victories in Klagenfurt and Den Haag very successful. In between the two Brazilians Seventeenth were at the Åland Open and at the end of the season they finished in Morocco the 13th Place.

2012

With Ricardo Cunha won the first tournament in the World Tour 2012 in Brasília the bronze medal. Subsequently, the duo won the tournament in Mysłowice for themselves. After two ninth places in China the Brazilians in Prague succeeded the second victory of the season. In Moscow she won the small final. A ninth place in Rome followed fifth places in Gstaad, and Klagenfurt. At the Olympic Games in London Ricardo / Cunha came first knockout round without dropping a set, which they won against the Spaniards Herrera / Gavira. In the quarterfinals, she dropped out against the later Olympic champion Brinkmann / Recker man. For Pedro Cunha so that the season was over, while Ricardo Santos finished at the last event of the year in Poland together with Vitor Felipe another ninth.

2013

2013 formed a new duo with Ricardo Álvaro Morais Filho. Ricardo / Filho launched with a fourth place finish at the Fuzhou Open in the World Tour 2013. Subsequently, they were third in Shanghai and used in the next three Grand Slams positions five and nine. At the World Championships in Stare Jabłonki they came as runners-up in the first knockout round. Without dropping a set, they came semi-finals, where they dethroned the defending champion Alison / Emanuel. In the final, but they had to the Dutch Brouwer / Meeuwsen beaten.