The Portuguese had the longest possible journey to win gold at the Edmonton Challenge, playing two qualifier matches on Thursday, two pool play encounters on Friday, three elimination duels on Saturday and two medal matches on Sunday, ending the week with eight victories in nine matches. The last and most important of them was a sweep (21-16, 21-18) of Mol and Berntsen in the gold medal match.
The reigning World University Championship winners, Pedrosa, 23, and Campos, 22, were not only the first Portuguese to take gold on the Beach Pro Tour, but also the first athletes from their country to stand on the top of the podium in a world-level international beach volleyball event since the legendary Miguel Maia and João Brenha triumphed in an FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event in Moscow, Russia, in 1999, when neither of the two were born yet.
“We almost lost in a tie-breaker in the qualifier and now we’re here, winning gold, it’s hard to believe,” Pedrosa remarked. “Maia and Brenha are like family to me, they support us the entire time. Hopefully, now it’s our turn to give some medals to Portugal. We just want to continue doing that because it’s what we love to do and winning makes it even more satisfying.”
