Joaquin Bello

Last updated

Joaquin Bello
Joaquin Bello at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.jpg
Joaquin at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Personal information
Full nameJoaquin Bello Fernandez Echevarria
NationalityBritish
Born (2000-07-20) 20 July 2000 (age 24)
Madrid, Spain
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight81 kg (179 lb)
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
YearsTeammate
2016– Javier Bello
Honours
Men's beach volleyball
Representing Flag of England.svg  England
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Beach volleyball
Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Rio de Janeiro Elite16
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2024 Nuvali Challenge
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2024 Recife Challenge
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2023 Goa Challenge
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Cortegaça Future
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2021 Cortegaça
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2021 Nijmegen
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2019 Rubavu
Commonwealth Youth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Nassau

Joaquin Bello (born 20 July 2000) is a British beach volleyball player and medical doctor.

Contents

Together with his twin brother Javier, they are the current British No. 1 team. [1] They made history by winning the Elite16 tournament in Rio de Janeiro, the highest level of World Tour competition, marking the greatest volleyball achievement for a British team. They are also 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalists, 8-time World Tour medalists and 4-time British champions.

Junior career

Joaquin and Javier started playing volleyball at the age of 6 at their local club in Madrid. In 2011, their family moved to London and they joined Richmond Volleyball Club, where they won multiple national championships in indoor and beach volleyball in all the underage categories. [2]

In 2016, the brothers started their international beach volleyball career and earned their first England cap at the U17 NEVZA Beach Volleyball Championships, eventually taking the gold medal. [3] [4]

Beach volleyball made its Commonwealth Games debut in the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in Nassau, Bahamas. There, the duo won gold, helping England to top the medal table. [5]

Whilst in the middle of their A-levels, the Bello brothers qualified for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, making them the first ever British team to qualify for this competition. [6] [7] They clinched the 5th and last European spot for the Games by beating Hungary in the last playoff match. [8] Representing Team GB for their first time, [9] the brothers lost in the quarterfinal against host country Argentina, ending up in 5th place. [10] [11]

They finished in 5th place at the U19 World Championships in Nanjing, China - Britain’s highest ever finish at any world junior event. [5]

Senior career

Joaquin played his first World Tour event in Aydin, Turkey in 2017. [12]

In 2019, the twins won a bronze medal in Rubavu, Rwanda after being defeated by the eventual champions Japan in the semifinal. It was the first ever World Tour medal for a British men’s team. [13] [14]

In 2021, they won their first World Tour gold medal in Cortegaça, Portugal, the first in British history. [15] [16] [17] They followed that with another medal, a bronze at the World Tour event in Nijmegen. [18]

In 2022, the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour (BPT) replaced the FIVB World Tour and the Bello brothers won another bronze medal in Cortegaça, Portugal. [12]

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the brothers competed for Team England at the Smithfield arena, later nicknamed the "Bellodrome”. [19] [20] They achieved a historic bronze medal, the first for England at the Commonwealth Games, just 5 years on from their triumph at the Commonwealth Youth Games. [21] [22] [23]

In 2023, the team reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship in Vienna, defeating former world champions Brouwer/ Meeuwsen (NED). [24] They followed it up with a bronze medal in the BPT Challenge in Goa, India. [25]

In 2024, the Bello's won another 2 bronze medals at the BPT Challenges in Recife, Brazil and in Nuvali, Philippines. [26] [27]

They then went on to record the "greatest ever volleyball result" for a British team by winning the Elite16 tournament in Rio de Janeiro, the highest level of World Tour competition. Coming all the way from the qualification rounds, they shocked the Olympic champions Mol and Sørum of Norway in the semifinals, and added a hard-fought victory over Argentina in the finals to secure the first major title for England in the iconic Copacabana beach stadium. [27] [28]

Joaquin has won 4 consecutive British Championship titles, winning the UK Beach Tour Finals in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. [29] [30] [31] [32]

With his brother, he achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 15 in December 2024. [33]

Personal life

After moving to London in 2011, Joaquin attended Gunnersbury Catholic School in Brentford, London. [2] [3] [34]

The brothers train in Barnes [35] and are coached by their father Luis Bello, a former professional player and coach. [5] [6] Beach volleyball is a full family affair with their mum coordinating their support team and their younger brother following on their footsteps in 2023 with a bronze medal in the BPT Futures in Bujumbura, Burundi. [36] [37]

Joaquin is a qualified medical doctor after completing his Medicine studies at Imperial College School of Medicine, [36] [37] earning him the nickname “Doctor Block” on the World Tour.

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References

  1. ↑ "FIVB World Ranking - Men". FIVB. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 Cumber, Robert (11 August 2016). "Volleyball twins net coveted place at School Games". MyLondon. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 Lucy, Dyer (19 April 2017). "Isleworth's Javier Bello keeps Youth Commonwealth Games in sight after financial boost". South West Londoner. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. ↑ Rijvers, David (24 July 2016). "Bellos wins Englands first ever Junior Beach Volleyball NEVZA gold medal". Richmond Volleyball. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Garside, Kevin (11 June 2019). "Meet the Bello brothers: the twins looking to put beach volleyball on the map in England". iNews. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  6. 1 2 Le Roux, Adam (5 October 2018). "Joaquin & Javier Bello: The beach volleyball brothers aiming for Youth Olympic gold in Buenos Aires". Sports Gazette. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Bahamas to Buenos Aires for Bello brothers". Team England. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Bello boys seal Youth Olympic Games spot". Volleyball England. 11 June 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "British twins hope for beach volleyball glory". Olympics.org. 6 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Bello brothers balance intense year on and off the beach". TASS. 1 November 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "The end of the journey: Bello brothers in Buenos Aires". Volleyball England. 16 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Joaquin Bello". FIVB. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "World Tour bronzes for England's beach stars". British Volleyball. 27 September 2019. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  14. ↑ "'Bello brothers' encourage exercise at home during lockdown". Hounslow Herald. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  15. ↑ "Brilliant Bellos achieve British best on World Tour". Volleyball England. 16 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  16. ↑ "Bello brothers record historic beach volleyball victory". Team England. 18 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  17. ↑ "English and Kiwi teams claim historic gold medals in Cortegaça". CEV. 15 August 2021. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  18. ↑ "Brilliant bronze for Team Bello". Volleyball England. 22 September 2021. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  19. ↑ Alderman, Elgan (6 August 2022). "Commonwealth Games: English beach volleyball duo eye golden sands". The Times. ISSN   0140-0460. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
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  21. ↑ Charlesworth, David (7 August 2022). "Bello twins set sights on Olympic bid after historic beach volleyball bronze". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  22. ↑ "Commonwealth Games: Beach volleyball bronze for Bello twins". The Times. 8 August 2022. ISSN   0140-0460. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  23. ↑ "Bello brothers bag brilliant bronze". Team England. 7 August 2022. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  24. ↑ Alex, Seftel (9 October 2023). "Javier and Joaquin Bello: Beach volleyball twins target Olympics". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023.
  25. ↑ "Bellos claim bronze in India". Volleyball England. 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023.
  26. ↑ Gunston, Jo (26 March 2024). "Bello Twins train through cold English winters for Paris 2024 Beach Volleyball Berth". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024.
  27. 1 2 "Bello brothers' 2024 in review". Volleyball England. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  28. ↑ "Bellos complete their Cinderella story with first ever Beach Pro Tour gold". Volleyball World. 10 November 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ↑ "UKBT crowns beach champions". Volleyball England. 16 September 2020. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  30. ↑ "UKBT GRAND SLAM FINALS 2021!". UK Beach Tour. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  31. ↑ "UKBT Bournemouth Grand Slam 2022". UK Beach Tour. 11 September 2022. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022.
  32. ↑ "Bournemouth stages sizzling Grand Slam Finals". UK Beach Tour. 11 September 2023. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023.
  33. ↑ "FIVB World Ranking ARCHIVE". Internet Archive. 16 December 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ↑ "Volleyball champions of GB !". Gunnersbury. 15 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  35. ↑ "Javier Bello fully focused on the future, Birmingham 2022 and beyond". Team England. 17 June 2020. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  36. 1 2 "Dreaming of the Olympics". Holloway Express. 16 February 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  37. 1 2 Ferraro, Federico (14 July 2022). "Getting to know – England's Bello brothers". CEV. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
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