Larissa Franca

Born in Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, Brazil in 1982, Larissa Franca was always athletic and became drawn to volleyball during high school. She earned a scholarship, then switched to beach volleyball in 2001. In 2003 she earned the bronze medal at the Pan American Games with her partner Ana Richa. Franca was named FIVB Most Outstanding Player after the 2006 season. She then teamed up with Juliana Felisberta and won gold at the 2007 Pan American Games, but an injury to Felisberta prevented the two from playing as a team in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Franca partnered with Ana Paula Connelly, and the pair finished in fifth place. Once Felisberta recovered, they reteamed and again won gold at the Pan American Games in 2011, in addition to the 2011 Beach Volleyball World Championships. In 2012, Felisberta and Franca took the Bronze medal at the Olympic Games in London. After the London Olympics, Franca announced her retirement from professional volleyball, but decided to return in 2014. She teamed with Talita Antunes and won the Gold medal at the 2015 Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals. The same year, Franca was named FIVB Most Outstanding Player for the second time and became the all-time leader in FIVB tournament gold medals. In 2016, they were selected as one of the pairs to represent Brazilian beach volleyball in the 2016 summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.