Liliana spent most of her career as a partner of Elsa Baquerizo, who retired after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games three years ago. Together, they played at three Olympics, collected seven FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour medals and made three CEV European Championship podiums. Liliana took her second baby break after Tokyo and returned to the courts in 2023 with a new partner, Paula Soria. They won three medals on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour and the most recent one, the Stare Jablonki Challenge bronze in early June this year, was probably the most important one as it practically sealed them a last-minute ticket to the Games in Paris. And although it is already Liliana’s fourth time at the Olympics, she still feels the excitement about competing at such a forum.
“I can compare this with nothing else, but London,” she said. “It was my first Olympics. That feeling, those emotions... I was shaking. It was similar maybe in Rio. Tokyo was pretty much calm, still with Elsa... And now I was still very, very calm. I was telling Paola, ‘it doesn’t matter if we win or lose, because what you will keep in your memory is the feeling you have from playing this game, not from winning or losing; just try to enjoy and smile,’ and I think we did.”
Unlike well-seasoned Liliana, Paula is a newcomer to the Olympic and shared her thoughts about her successful debut at Paris 2024.
“The truth is, I was very nervous before the start of the game, but once we began playing, I concentrated, calmed down and the pressure dropped,” she said. “In the end, I was super happy and super satisfied. There were a lot of Spanish spectators and Spanish flags on the stands. My family is also here, so yes, I am super happy!”
