When Olympics.com met Javier and Joaquin Bello in March 2024, the England-representing Spanish-born beach volleyball brothers talked about how they’d sometimes have to chip away at icy sand before starting their session during winter training at their London base.
The typical beaches of Rio de Janeiro this was not, although the sand at the Barn Elms Sports Centre at least comes from the London 2012 beach volleyball venue at Horse Guards Parade.
The impact of training on frozen sand is tricky, Joaquin told us, “because it’s quite cold, especially during the night, the sun freezes (the sand) and that makes it quite hard, and then sometimes if it’s cold enough, it doesn’t unfreeze in the morning, so it can be quite difficult for the knees”.
“It gets really cold, obviously, in London,” continued Javier, “especially compared to where all of our opponents and other players on the tour are training, but we’re used to it. It’s what we’ve been doing for a long time. It’s what we have to do, and it’s what we’re willing to do as well, for our ultimate goal, which is obviously the Olympics.”
At the time of that interview, the twins were eyeing a last-minute run of results that took them oh so close to qualifying for Paris 2024 and becoming the first British men’s team to qualify for an Olympic Games.
Yet the goal of competing at the Eiffel Tower Stadium, an image that featured as screensavers on their phones, didn’t quite come to fruition, but the dream of competing at an Olympic Games continues.
It’s just been readjusted toward LA28.
In the meantime, there’s the small matter of becoming the first British men to compete at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, with the 2025 edition taking place from 14 to 23 November in Adelaide, Australia.
The pair received a Wild Card entry from organisers after an injury-hit 2025 season, only returning to the court in July, but results from post-Paris 2024 and impressive competition finishes over the past few weeks, show the pair are starting to make inroads into jostling the world’s best for podium places.