Olympic sailors are cruising around the harbour of Marseille, surfers are riding the breaks of Tahiti, but our Aussie beach volleyball players believe they have the best venue of Paris 2024 – the Eiffel Tower.
Competition is now underway in the men’s and women’s beach volleyball events with the medal round scheduled to begin on August 9-10 at the Eiffel Tower Stadium at the base of the iconic landmark.
Representing Australia in the women’s draw are Mariafe Artacho Del Solar and Taliqua Clancy, while the men’s side of the draw finds Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert, along with Izac Carracher and Mark Nicolaidis.
Constructed exclusively for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the venue has been drawing admiration from athletes the world over including the Down Under women’s duo:
"I think it is the best venue of them all,” declares Mariafe. "We’re really excited, it’s going to be so, so special playing in front of the Eiffel Tower. So unique and I’m definitely so excited.”
Mariafe and Taliqua have been competition partners since 2018 with Paris marking their third Olympics and second competing together, the pair is looking to go one better than their silver medal performance in Tokyo.
Photo credit: Australian Olympic Committee.
"We definitely know that’s what comes from the silver medal,” Taliqua says. "We just take it one step at a time and that’s literally all we focus on, just every, every little step.”
Mariafe adds that being the only team in Paris with a medal from Tokyo in beach volleyball gives them a little bit of an advantage; having been in the finals and gone all the way to play for gold.
We think the ideal way to cheer the team on is to have a lounge picnic dreaming of being under the Tower with a crusty baguette and glass of red wine!
Try these five picnic recipes for a volley-good time and go Australia:
Beetroot hummus – nothing says a picnic more than hummus or a creamy dip, paired with crisp crostini, your favourite chips or sesame seed crackers. Magnifique!
Calvados pork and chicken liver pâté – what’s more French than pâté we hear you ask? No quintessential picnic or tapas offering is complete with pâté and crackers.
Cheese and spinach mini quiche – the iconic quiche Lorraine has humble beginnings as a simple and hearty meal prepared by farmers; these days we have developed the quiche into a snack, lunchbox treat and picnic staple, this recipe doesn’t disappoint.
Chicken drumlets – everyone’s fave hand-held picnic snack…these delectable morsels are served with chilli mayonnaise dressing, chilli vinaigrette and Thai chilli dipping sauce. Need we say more?
Raw chocolate brownie – okay let’s chuck a healthy picnic treat in there, after all, it is the Olympics. These delicious brownies are not only gluten and dairy-free they are also high in fibre, rich in antioxidants and bursting with good fats. Dates are a natural sweetener packed full of nutritional benefits, such as flavonoids and carotenoids, which help reduce inflammation and promote heart health.
