Talita Antunes

Talita Antunes

Antunes in 2011
Personal information
Full name Talita Antunes da Rocha
Nickname Talita
Born (1982-08-29) August 29, 1982
Aquidauana, MS, Brazil
Hometown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 64 kg (141 lb)
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
Teammate
Larissa França
Previous teammates
Teammate Tours (points)
Maria Clara Salgado
Tatiana Minello
Tais Jesus
Renata Ribeiro
1 (27)
1 (18)
1 (-)

Talita Antunes da Rocha (born August 29, 1982) is a Brazilian beach volleyball player. She was FIVB rookie of the year in 2005, and World Tour Winner twice, in 2013 and 2015.

Career

Born in Aquidauana, Antunes caught the attention of Olympic Champion Jacqueline Silva at the age of 19. From the first time they played together, in Maceió in 2001, Jackie was impressed with Antunes' style and invited the young player to partner with her in 2002. The pair won the South American Championship in La Paz, Bolívia 2002.

After Silva was injured, Talita continued the 2002 season with Renata Ribeiro as her new partner. They won the championships in the Challenger Banco do Brasil in Natal and they were runners-up in the games held in Rio and Recife. In 2003, she was again champion in Goiânia do Circuito Banco do Brasil, this time with a new partner, Tais Jesus. She also partnered with Giseli Gavio on the Italian Circuit, ranking fourth overall. In 2005, she resumed her partnership with Ribeiro and was voted FIVB World Tour rookie of the year. Their partnership won them several competitions and they became one of the top-ranking teams in the world tour. In 2008, Talita was crowned Queen of the Beach in Brazil. In that same year, Talita and Renata represented Brazil in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They finished fourth after losing a hard-fought Bronze Medal Match to the Chinese Team.

In 2009, Talita forged a new partnership with Maria Elisa Antonelli. They won gold in the 2009 Swatch FIVB World Tour in China, South Korea, Switzerland, and Norway. They also won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships in Stavanger, Norway. Their strong partnership landed Talita and Maria 1st overall ranking in the 2009 Brazilian Beach Volleyball Circuit and 2nd overall ranking in the 2009 World Ranking. Talita and Maria Elisa went to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but were upset in the round of 16 by a Czech double.

After the Olympics, Talita partnered with Taiana Lima and won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for the first time in 2013. The following year, Larissa França, a former world champion who won bronze in London, signed to form a partnership with Talita aiming the 2016 Summer Olympics Brazil would host in Rio de Janeiro.[1] Larissa and Talita were World Tour champions and Team of the Year in 2015, and were deemed favorites for the Olympic gold.[2] Talita got to her second Olympic semifinal after a hard-fought win over the Swiss team of Joana Heidrich and Nadine Zumkehr in the quarterfinals,[3] but went on to lose 2-0 to the Germans Ludwig and Walkenhosrt in the semi final.[4] April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings (the latter of whom also beat Talita in the 2008 semifinal) then won the bronze medal over the team in 3 sets.

Personal Life

Talita is married to Renato França, who coaches male beach volleyball squad Pedro Solberg and Evandro Oliveira.[5]

References


Wikimedia Commons has media related to Talita Antunes.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
 Larissa França and
Juliana Silva (BRA)
Women's FIVB Beach World Tour Winner
alongside Brazil Taiana Lima

2013
Succeeded by
 Maria Antonelli and
Juliana Silva (BRA)
Preceded by
 Maria Antonelli and
Juliana Silva (BRA)
Women's FIVB Beach World Tour Winner
alongside Brazil Larissa França

2015
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by
 Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Blocker"
2013
Succeeded by
 Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)
Preceded by
 Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Hitter"
2013–
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
 Juliana Silva (BRA)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Attacker"
2013
Succeeded by
 Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)
Preceded by
 Larissa França and
Juliana Silva (BRA)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Team of the Year"
alongside Brazil Taiana Lima

2013
Succeeded by
 Juliana Silva and
Maria Antonelli (BRA)
Preceded by
 Maria Antonelli and
Juliana Silva (BRA)
Women's FIVB World Tour "Team of the Year"
alongside Brazil Larissa França

2015
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Inaugural
Women's FIVB World Tour "Top Rookie"
2005
Succeeded by
 Xue Chen (CHN)
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