2016-09-19 17:53:00 CET
We countdown our favorites moments from the finals…
This week we’re counting down our favorite five memories from the Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals in Toronto.
We kick off with number five…
Hyden/Bourne win bronze
We think secretly that everybody wants to be part of team Hyden/Bourne. And why not? On one hand you’ve got the young, up-and-coming star Tri Bourne, the fresh faced assassin at the net; and on the other you’ve got the wily, evergreen legend John Hyden. He’s 44 – yes, years old – next month. You wouldn’t believe it would you? Not after his and Tri’s performance on the sand at the Swatch World Tour Finals.
Eyebrows were raised when it was revealed that this dynamic duo would take their place at Polson Pier instead of Olympians Gibb/Patterson. But in this game you’ve got to earn your place and John and Tri certainly did that by finishing above their rivals in the FIVB World Tour ranking.
And if there was any doubt about their credentials you only had to witness their entertaining play on court in Toronto over the past week. They breezed through the pool play with two wins from two and then dumped out countrymen Lucena/Dalhausser in the quarterfinals.
Okay so they lost in the semis to Pedro Solberg and Evandro Goncalves, but they recovered from that minor setback to then crush Canadian dreams of a medal by beating Saxton/Schalk to win bronze!
“This is what you want to remember going into the off season,” Tri told us, grinning with a bronze medal hanging around his neck.
You’re damn right – and we can’t wait to see the next chapter in the story between these two on the tour in 2016/2017.
We discover which teams served, spiked and sided-out the best…
Sometimes there are more important things in life than beach volleyball