These two news items, when taken together, should give you an even deeper appreciation for one athlete’s once-in-a-generation career.
Firstly, Emanuel Rego, known mononymously as Emanuel, has been elected president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee’s Athlete’s Commission. He and fellow volleyballer Alvim Fabiana de Oliveira, or Fabi for short, will serve on the commission until the 2016 Olympics, which as you’ll recall are in Brazil. So this is not a small responsibility or honor. This is a pretty big deal, and an indicator that Emanuel’s gonna remain in the public eye that long, particularly as he likewise serves on the Athlete’s Commission for the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Who can say if his playing career will extend that long — though there’s been no indication it’s ending anytime soon. Emanuel is one of the greatest players in the history of beach volleyball, holder of several all-time records. A competitor like that will, if anything, err on the side of hanging on too long, and if 2016 is too far for him, he probably won’t qualify for the Rio Games. A country can only field 2 teams per gender in beach volleyball, and goodness knows how many tandems there are knocking on the door to be one of them.
While Emanuel is sticking around, Pedro Cunha is not. Accumulated injuries have forced Cunha (who is not mononymously known as Pedro — that’s a different beach volleyball player, last name Salgado) to call an end to his career. He will fulfill a prior commitment to play a tournament on the Brazilian circuit in mid-March, and then he’s done. It’s an unfortunate thing, because he’s only 29. If indeed Emanuel doesn’t make it to Rio, Cunha could have potentially been one of those there in his stead.
And the amazing thing to take from this is that Emanuel turns 40 in a little over a month. To still be going at that age puts him in Karch Kiraly territory, albeit without the indoor success. One can only imagine the myriad injuries Emanuel must have racked up in the 22 years he’s played international beach volleyball. There may never be a career quite like his again.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
