Garay stars for Brazil in her swan song

Fe Garay wasn’t supposed to have a central role with Brazil at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. With the country’s national team featuring two of the best outside hitters in the world in captain Natalia Pereira and Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimaraes, the London 2012 Olympic champion was expected to bring a good deal of experience to the team and help off-the-bench when needed.

Yet, if the South Americans have advanced to play in their third final in the last four Olympics, they owe it in big part to their 35-year-old outside hitter, who is Brazil’s top scoring player in Tokyo and ranks fourth overall in the tournament with 109 points.

A finger injury sustained by Natalia ahead of the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League moved Garay into the team’s starting lineup for the tournament. Her great performances in Rimini, Italy, made what was initially a temporary move into a permanent one, as the veteran turned into a starter and also a key factor in Brazil's success in Japan.

“This is my last opportunity to play for the national team and I couldn’t be more motivated,” said the outside hitter, who announced she will step away from the national team after Tokyo to start a family. “A few years ago I didn't know if I would be here, so I’m giving everything I have and holding nothing back. We have such a great group of players and I’m enjoying every match and every day with them. I’m very proud we made it this far, but it’s not over yet and we’ll fight with all we have for the gold medal.”

Brazil’s gold medal match opponents will be the United States, who top the FIVB World Rankings and won the FIVB Volleyball Nations League for a third-straight time a month ago, defeating the South Americans in the final in Rimini, Italy.

Garay was part of a Brazilian team that was in the exact same position nine years ago at the London 2012 Olympics, entering the gold medal match as the underdogs against the Americans, but coming out of it on top, winning a second-straight gold medal for their country.

“Whatever happened in the past, it won’t help us now,” Garay reflected. “It’s a different story, involving different players and nothing we’ve done in the past will help now. It’s a final and anything can happen. We’ll do our best and I’m confident in our chances. We played them in the VNL final and it was a very close match, so why not? We know of their quality as a team and will prepare in the best way we can to win.”

Brazil’s confidence might have received a boost in the semifinals, when they completely dominated Korea to a straight-set victory (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) that is now the widest in terms of points differential (75-48) between teams in an Olympic semifinal.

“We knew Korea hadn’t make it this far by accident,” Garay, who scored 17 points in the match, added. “They had a tremendous performance against Turkey and that pushed us to approach the match with an even higher level of focus and attention. We didn’t want to let this opportunity of being in the final again slip from our hands.”

Quick links:
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Volleyball
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Volleyball - Match schedule
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