Krasilnikov/Semenov start final Olympic push in Sochi

Sochi, Russia, May 1, 2016 – For the Russian Beach Volleyball pair of Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Konstantin Semenov, the “final push” for Olympic glory begins this week on “home sand” as the FIVB World Tour returns to the Black Sea coastal resort for the second-time in the last eight months.

With seven Russian men’s pairs entered in the event led by Krasilnikov and Semenov, this week’s US$150,000 Sochi Open has attracted 103 men’s and women’s teams from 35 countries for the second annual event to be held on the “Sport Inn” courts.  Eight women’s teams from Russia will also be competing led by Olympians Ekaterina Birlova and Evgeniya Ukolova.

Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2014, will be the site for the second-straight week of a major world-wide sporting event as the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix will finish here Sunday.  Sochi also will be one of the host cities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

MOTIVATION

“With the Sochi Open being one of the last qualifying events for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the motivation will be double for all the teams competing, especially for the top Russian pairs,” said the 26-year old Semenov, who will be competing in his 28th FIVB World Tour event with Krasilnikov.  “With Sochi now and Moscow at the end of May, the two Russian stops on the world tour are very important for us.  Combined with playing on home sand and competing for a spot in the Olympics, there will a spotlight on us this week.”

Playing in the spotlight is not new for Semenov, who qualified for the London 2012 Olympic Games with Serguey Prokopyev.  Instead of earning a London berth via the FIVB World Tour, Semenov and Prokopyev netted one of the two final 2012 Olympic berths via the Continental Cup competition were the Russian pair won six of seven matches in the Moscow happening to advance to the quadrennial event. 

“It’s different this time in qualifying for the Olympics,” said Semenov, who started playing full-time on the FIVB World Tour in 2010 with this week’s Sochi Open being his 70th start on the international circuit.  “I was younger and my Beach Volleyball experience wasn’t on the same level as it is now.  The London Olympic Games were also something new for me.  Now it’s different.  I’m more experienced, I’m more confident.  I have had an Olympic taste and know what a great feeling it is.  So my dream now is not only to qualify to Rio, but to win a medal.”

BETTERING …

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