Larissa França

Larissa França Maestrini[1] (born April 14, 1982) is a beach volleyball player from Brazil. She is the all-time leader of beach volleyball titles, with 57 FIVB career gold medals, including the 2011 Beach Volleyball World Championships with Juliana Felisberta and the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour with Talita Antunes.[2]

Larissa França
França at the Grand Slam Moscow on September 3, 2012
Personal information
NicknameLarissa
NationalityBrazilian
Born (1982-04-14) April 14, 1982
Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, ES, Brazil
HometownFortaleza, Brazil
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight68 kg (150 lb)
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
Teammate
Lili Maestrini
Previous teammates
Years Teammate
2004-12
2002-03		 Juliana Silva
Ana Richa
Honours
Women's beach volleyball
Representing  Brazil
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Beach
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Rome Beach
Silver medal – second place 2005 Berlin Beach
Silver medal – second place 2009 Stavanger Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Gstaad Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Vienna Beach
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Beach
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Santo Domingo Beach
World Tour Finals
Gold medal – first place 2015 Fort Lauderdale Beach

She was inducted to the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2023.[3]

Career

With Felisberta, França won two Pan American Games titles (in 2007 and 2011)[4] and the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[5] Four years prior, França had had to play the 2008 Summer Olympics with Ana Paula Connelly following an injury to Felisberta, finishing in fifth place. She also won the bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, partnering Ana Richa.

After a brief two year retirement following the 2012 Olympics, França went back to activity in 2014 in a double with Talita Antunes. The duo went on to win the gold medal at the 2015 Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals and earn a spot into the 2016 Summer Olympics.[6]

The pair participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. The pair won their quarterfinal match against the Swiss team of Joana Heidrich and Nadine Zumkehr in a nail biting match of three sets (21-23, 27–25, 15-13) in the quarter final played on August 14, 2016.[7] The pair lost in straight sets to Ludwig and Walkenhosrt in the semifinal match. Next they went for bronze.[8] They lost to the American team of April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings in 3 sets of (21–17, 17–21, 9–15); they finished 4th.[9]

Personal life

França was born in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, and moved at a young age to the state of Pará. A sports enthusiast from her youth, she earned a volleyball scholarship in high school and went on to start her professional career at Tuna Luso Brasileira. She moved to beach volleyball in 2001, following an event held by the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation in Fortaleza.[10]

In August 2013, França married fellow female player Liliane Maestrini,[11] about one month after they came out about their relationship.[12]

References
  1. "PLAYERS' DATABASE: Athlete's biography". Fédération Internationale de Volleyball. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  2. "Larissa named top player of World Tour 2015". FIVB. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  3. 2023 Volleyball Hall class includes Phil Dalhausser, Larissa, Katsutoshi Nekoda, Yumilka Ruiz
  4. "SI". sportsillustrated.cnn.com.
  5. "Beach volleyball women's results - London 2012 Olympics". Olympic.org.
  6. "Ft. Lauderdale Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals - Match Schedule / Results". FIVB.
  7. "FIVB - Volleyball".
  8. Ludwig & Walkenhorst dominate Brazilians for golden Beach berth
  9. "The Biggest Medal Upsets at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics". Daily Beast. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  10. Larissa França: rainha das quadras de areia, Diário do Pará (in Portuguese)
  11. "Larissa e Lili, do vôlei de praia, se casam em praia de Fortaleza com vestido branco e buquê" (in Portuguese). Jornal Extra Online. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  12. "Larissa França: I am gay". Volleywood. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.


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