Ágatha Bednarczuk Rippel (born 22 June 1983), frequently referred to as just ''Ágatha'', is a Brazilian international beach volleyball player, playing as a blocker. She won the gold medal at the 2015 World Championships, as well as a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, alongside her teammate Bárbara Seixas.

Biography

Born in

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area ...

, Southern Brazil, to Maria José Vagnoni Moscardi and Alfredo Bednarczuk, a family of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

ancestry, Agatha started competing in the city of

Paranaguá Paranaguá (''Great Round Sea'', in Tupi) is a city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. Founded in 1648, it is Paraná's oldest city. It is known for the Port of Paranaguá, which serves as both the sea link for Curitiba, to the west and the ca ...

. She became famous after competing at the

2005 Beach Volleyball World Championships These page shows the results of the Beach Volleyball World Championships, held 21–26 June 2005 in Berlin, Germany. It was the fifth official edition of this event, after ten unofficial championships (1987–1996) all held in Rio de Janeiro. Men ...

. She was part of the Swatch FIVB World Tour 2008 and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. Bednarczuk also competed at the

2013 Beach Volleyball World Championships The 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships was a beach volleyball double-gender event, held from 1 to 7 July 2013 in Stare Jabłonki, Poland. The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships are organized every two years, and Poland h ...

and was on the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. She won the gold medal at the 2015 World Championships alongside her teammate Bárbara Seixas. This qualified her to represent Brazil at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Professional career

Ágatha and her partner Bárbara beat

Kerri Walsh-Jennings Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings (born August 15, 1978) is an American professional beach volleyball player, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a one-time Olympic bronze medalist. She is the beach volleyball leader in career victories as of 2016 hav ...

and

April Ross April Elizabeth Ross (born June 20, 1982) is an American beach volleyball player and three-time Olympic medalist. She won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Jennifer Kessy, a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics with Kerri Walsh ...

of United States, in straight sets of (22–20), (21–18) in the 2016 Rio Olympic semifinal. The pair then lost to Germany's

Laura Ludwig Laura Ludwig-Bowes (born 13 January 1986) is a German professional beach volleyball player, playing as a defender. Previously forming a pair with compatriot Kira Walkenhorst, she represents Hamburger SV and has won four European championships. S ...

and

Kira Walkenhorst Kira Katharina Walkenhorst (born 18 November 1990) is a retired German beach volleyball player who played as a blocker. She has an older brother Alexander Walkenhorst who is a professional beach volleyball player and a younger sister Pia Walken ...

References

External links

* * * * *
Ágatha
at ''

Confederação Brasileira de Voleibol The Brazilian Volleyball Confederation ( pt, Confederação Brasileira de Voleibol, CBV) is the governing body of volleyball and beach volleyball in Brazil. Formed in 1954, its headquarters are in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. The CBV is a memb ...

'' 1983 births Living people Brazilian women's beach volleyball players Beach volleyball blockers Sportspeople from Curitiba Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic beach volleyball players of Brazil Beach volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in beach volleyball Brazilian people of Polish descent Brazilian people of Italian descent Universiade medalists in beach volleyball Universiade bronze medalists for Brazil Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade Beach volleyball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Brazilian women {{Brazil-volleyball-bio-stub