José Loiola | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
Full name | José Geraldo Loiola | |||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Brazilian | |||||||||||||||||
Born | March 28, 1970 Vitória, Brazil | (age 54)|||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | |||||||||||||||||
Honours
|
José Geraldo Loiola (born March 28, 1970, in Vitória) [1] is a former beach volleyball player from Brazil. He won the gold medal at the 1999 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Marseille, France, partnering with Emanuel Rego. [2]
Loiola began playing beach volleyball in the AVP in 1993 with partner Eduardo "Anjinho" Bacil. [1] He was selected as the AVP Rookie of the Year in 1993. [3] He eventually won 11 tournaments partnering with Adam Johnson and 17 partnering with Kent Steffes. [1] He was named MVP of the AVP tour in 1997, and was voted Best Offensive Player of the AVP four times. [1] In total, he won 55 tournaments and $1,900,000 in prize money in the AVP and FIVB. [3] Loiola was noted for his exceptional vertical jump. [4] [5]
Loiola represented his native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, [6] and added a silver medal to his tally a year later at the 2001 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Klagenfurt, Austria, alongside Ricardo Santos. [7]
In 2014, Loiola was inducted into the California Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame. [3] In 2017, he was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. [1]
Loiola coached Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes of the United States in preparation for the 2020 Olympic beach volleyball qualification. [1] He currently works as a coach for the United States beach national team. [6]