With just 25 days until the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the British Olympic Association (BOA) has announced today the pair of athletes who will represent Team GB in the women’s beach volleyball event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The selected athletes are:
The women’s pairing of Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin become the 398th and 399th athletes to be selected to Team GB for the London Olympics.
The London Olympics will be the first time that Team GB has been represented in beach volleyball since the 1996 Games in Atlanta, when the sport joined the Olympic programme.
Mullin and Dampney have competed together internationally since 2009 and have achieved some notable results en route to earning their berth in Team GB, including a runners-up position in the CEV Continental Cup tournament last June in the Ukrainian town of Ilyichevsk, before a fifth-placed finish at the FIVB Challenger competition held in London last August. The duo are currently ranked at 37th in the world and number one in Britain.
Team GB has taken the opportunity to use the home-nation place available to enter a women’s pair for beach volleyball, which will take place on Horse Guards Parade in London. Team GB last entered a female pair when the sport was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Games. The pair included Audrey Cooper, who is now Head Coach of the indoor women’s volleyball squad who were selected to Team GB last Friday.
The British Volleyball Federation (BVF) was founded as recently as 2006 but the rise in popularity of beach volleyball in the UK has mirrored a steady climb up the world rankings for the Team GB pair.
Team GB Chef de Mission Andy Hunt said:
Richard Callicott, President of British Volleyball said:
Kenny Barton Performance Programme Manager, British Volleyball said:
Shauna Mullin said:
Zara Dampney said: