Sheilla celebrates her career with Brazilian legends and fans

A festive match reuniting some of the biggest names in Brazilian volleyball and over 3,000 fans in Belo Horizonte celebrated the career of one of the legends of the sport, two-time Olympic gold medallist Sheilla Castro.

The 39-year-old veteran opposite, who played her last professional match back in April in the American Athletes Unlimited league, enjoyed a well-deserved farewell in front of some of her fans at Minas Tenis Clube, the club where she started her career in 2000 and where she currently works as an assistant coach.

The exhibition match reunited several of Sheilla’s former teammates, including members of the Brazilian national team that won gold at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (setters Helia ‘Fofao’ Souza and Carol Albuquerque and middle blocker Walewka Oliveira) and at London 2012 (outside hitters Natalia Pereira and Fe Garay, middle blockers Fabiana Claudino and Thaisa Menezes and libero Fabiana ‘Fabi’ Alvim).

Some current members of the Brazilian national team, including setter Macris Carneiro, outside hitters Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimaraes and Pri Daroit, opposite Kisy Nascimento and middle blocker Carol Gattaz also took part in the celebration, alongside a trio of men’s Olympic champions – setters Mauricio Lima (Athens 2004) and William Arjona (Rio 2016) and libero Sergio ‘Serginho’ Santos (Athens 2004 and Rio 2016) – reuniting as many as 36 Olympic medals among the players who were on the court.

The three-set match ended by a the victory for the team representing the Beijing squad, but in the end, the final score didn’t matter that much.

“I’m overflowing with happiness and gratitude,” Sheilla said in a post-match interview. “I can only thank everyone who came here to celebrate with me, from my family and friends to all the fans. I was trying to hold my tears, but I knew this moment would come. I’m very grateful for this recognition.”

A two-time Olympic champion, Sheilla is one of the winningest players in Brazilian volleyball history. She was a popular player on the country’s national team between 2002 and 2016, winning silver medals at both the 2006 and 2010 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championships, gold at seven editions of the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix and at two editions of the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup. She ended her career with 56 gold medals in total (36 with the Brazilian national team and 20 with clubs).

After announcing her international retirement following the Rio 2016 Games, she made a comeback in 2019 and ended her career with the national team with a silver medal at the 2021 Volleyball Nations League.

Honored with flowers and a plaque at the end of the match, Sheilla currently works as an assistant coach with reigning Brazilian champions Itambe Minas. She’s also been working alongside the Brazil national team coaching staff as they prepare for the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship.