As Javier Bello leapt up into the air and crushed the volleyball downwards for the last time, the ball flying far out, he and his brother’s shoulders had already slumped in resignation. In the biggest match of their careers, before the 4,000 strong capacity crowds they had animated with their own excellence, they had gradually been smothered by the skill and greater experience of their Canadian opponents. They fell 15-21, 21-13, 15-7 to Canada’s Sam Schachter and Daniel Dearing in the semi-final of the Commonwealth Games.
Over the past ten10 days in the middle of Smithfield, Javier and Joaquin Bello have made themselves the show - two young, talented and dynamic twin brothers determined to put beach volleyball on the map in this country. The pair were born in Madrid but moved to London in their childhood. At 22, they are the two-time British champions and coached by their father, a former volleyball player.
