Marco Grimalt
Grimalt in 2011
Personal information
Nationality Chile
Born (1989-07-11) 11 July 1989 (age 34)
Queilén, Chile
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight92 kg (203 lb)
Honours
Men's beach volleyball
Representing  Chile
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Beach
South American Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Asunción Beach

Marco Alfonso Grimalt Krogh[a] (born 11 July 1989) is a beach volleyball player representing the Chilean national volleyball team.[1] He has participated in the Pan American Games in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023, as well as the South American Games in 2010 and 2014.[2] He represented Chile at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[3][4]

Teaming up with his cousin Esteban Grimalt, he clinched the gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games and was honored with the National Sports Award in 2022.

Career

Grimalt was born in Queilén, Chiloé, but grew up in Linares, Maule Region. His passion for volleyball developed early, influenced by his father and several relatives who played the sport. Alongside his cousin Esteban Grimalt, they began dedicating themselves to beach volleyball in 2006, primarily during the Chilean summers due to the country's climate.

After their participation in the 2010 South American Games in Colombia, where they secured a bronze medal,[5] the Chilean Association of Olympic Athletes approved a project that allowed them to focus on beach volleyball year-round.[6]

In the 2011 Pan American Games held in Guadalajara, Mexico, the Grimalt duo fell short of reaching the quarterfinals, with one win and two losses.[7] The following year, they clinched the gold medal in the inaugural Bolivarian Beach Games in Lima, Peru.[8] In 2012, they also claimed gold in the South American Beach Volleyball Circuit held in Santa Fe, Argentina.[9]

In 2014, Marco Grimalt and Esteban Grimalt participated in the 2014 South American Games in Santiago, Chile, earning a silver medal after losing in the final to the Brazilian team of Alison Conte and Bruno Oscar de Almeida.[10]

At the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, they finished in fourth place. At the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, they won the gold medal by defeating the Mexican duo of Rodolfo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen in the final.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the Grimalt duo was defeated in the round of 16 by Konstantin Semenov and Ilya Leshukov, who represented the Russian Olympic Committee.[11]

At the 2022 South American Games in Asunción, the Grimalts won the gold medal by defeating the Argentine duo of Nicolás and Tomás Capogrosso.[12]

Notes

  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Grimalt and the second or maternal family name is Krogh.

References

  1. ^ "Marco Grimalt". Rio2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Presidente de la República Gabriel Boric Font encabeza la ceremonia de entrega del Premio Nacional del Deporte 2022". prensa.presidencia.cl. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  3. ^ ADN. "El Team Chile ya suma 52 clasificados a los JJ.OO. de Tokio". ADN (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Beach Volleyball GRIMALT Marco". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Chilenos en los Odesur (domingo 28 de marzo)". EMOL. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  6. ^ Vallejos, Leonardo (10 August 2011). "Los Grimalt: La poderosa dupla del voleibol playa que va por el oro en los Panamericanos". EMOL. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Primos Grimalt caen en Voley Playa y quedan eliminados de los Juegos". Terra Chile. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  8. ^ Valencia, Felipe (11 November 2012). "Con Oro de los Primos Grimalt Chile cerró una gran presentación en los I Juegos Bolivarianos de Playa". www.deportechileno.cl. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  9. ^ "Sudamericano en Santa Fe: Bronce para Gallay-Zonta". www.somosvoley.com. 25 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  10. ^ "Primos Grimalt perdieron la final y se quedaron con la plata". lanacion.cl. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  11. ^ Comunicaciones, Compañia Chilena de. "Los primos Grimalt se despidieron de Tokio 2020 tras dura batalla en octavos del vóley playa". alairelibre.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  12. ^ Zamorano, Javier (15 October 2022). "Primos Grimalt ganan durísima final y conquistan el oro en Voleibol Playa de los Odesur 2022". BioBioChile - La Red de Prensa Más Grande de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2023.

External links

Olympic Games Preceded byHenrik von Appen Flag bearer for  Chile Tokyo 2020with Francisca Crovetto Succeeded byIncumbent
Pan American Games champions in beach volleyball
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