Olaya Pazo qualifies for the Olympics at the Continental Cup - Articles

In 2014, Venezuelan beach coach Mauro Hernandez saw a photo on the AVP Facebook page, captioned something along the lines of "Venezuelan Olaya Pazo hitting a ball.” Coach Hernandez messaged Pazo,inquiring whether Pazo had any interest in competing for Venezuela's beach team. More on that later. Fast forward two years, and Pazo has made Venezuelan volleyball history, qualifying Venezuela for its first beach volleyball Olympic berth with twin sister Rebeca Pazo. Venezuela qualified at the CSV Continental cup in Rosario, Argentina, one of the last opportunities to qualify. In the Continental cup, each country is represented by two doubles teams. The two pairs compete round-robin against five other countries in best-of-three rubber matches. Venezuela's two teams were twin sisters Olaya/Rebeca Pazo, and Norisbeth Agudo/Gabriela Brito. In the Venezuelan's final rubber, Olaya/Rebeca defeated Julieta Puntin/Irene Verasio of Argentina in the first match. They subsequently played Maria Julia Benet/Maria Zonta of Argentina in the second match, and were leading until an injury to Benet forced her to withdraw, guaranteeing Venezuela the Olympic berth. "It was really weird. I almost cried,” Olaya said. “It’s been a goal of mine so long, I almost don't believe it. I am still having a hard time believing it. Of course I'm super-excited, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it. It's definitely a dream come true." Since qualifying, the Venezuelan beach team has generated a ton of interest. “We got a lot of media attention, especially when we qualified. We're only the second team that has qualified, I think...

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