JÄnis Å mÄ“diņš
As of October 30, 2013
Jānis Šmēdiņš ( born July 31, 1987 in Kuldīga ) is a Latvian volleyball and beach volleyball player.
Career
Was Šmēdiņš with his brother Tom Šmēdiņš 2002 European Vice-Champion of U18. Three years later he won the U20 European Championship. By 2008, the two brothers still various open tournaments played together.
In the summer of 2009 the German Bundesliga club SCC Berlin undertook the external attacker who only in his homeland was previously active than indoor volleyball players and won with SK Riga the national championship. Šmēdiņš reached in his first season with the Berliners, the playoff semi-finals of the League and was third in the Challenge Cup. A year later, he succumbed to the SCC until the playoff final against VfB Friedrichshafen. 2011/12 Šmēdiņš played at Premier League rivals Moers SC.
After a few tournaments with multiple partners Šmēdiņš formed in 2010 a new Stalkings with Mārtiņš Plavins. At the European Championships in Berlin, the Latvians won the bronze medal with his victory against the Spaniards Lario / Mesa. In Marseilles, they were subject only in the final of the Open tournament the Chinese Wu / Xu. At the World Cup in 2011 they lost the match for third place after three sets against the German defending champions Julius Brink and Jonas Recker man. In the Summer Olympics 2012 Jānis Šmēdiņš and Mārtiņš Plavins won the bronze medal in three sets against the Dutch Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil.
Since 2013 Jānis Šmēdiņš plays together with Aleksandrs Samoilovs. Šmēdiņš / Samoilovs reached on the FIVB World Tour 2013 almost all top ten finishes and was Vice European Champion in Klagenfurt.