PARIS -- The bright orange morning sun pokes through the open-lattice wrought iron that shapes the glorious Eiffel Tower. Thousands whiz by the Champ-de-Mars down below, many sipping coffee and devouring flaky pastry. Most stop for a brief selfie with La dame de fer, before disappearing behind Ecole Militaire and into the sprawling metropolis.
It's a typical summer morning in central Paris. Except it's not.
This world-renowned, idyllic locale also happens to be the scene of Olympic beach volleyball in 2024, an event which in recent years has become the place to be for sports fans and photography aficionados alike. Twelve years ago, in London, beach volleyball was staged at a transformed Horse Guards Parade, in the shadow of Big Ben. Four years later, Rio took the sport to its famed Copacabana Beach. Now, that Olympic white sand has been brought to the foot of one of the most visited and picturesque locations on the planet.
And it's here where Australian pair Mariafe Artacho Del Solar and Taliqua Clancy will look to go one better than their silver medal three years ago in Tokyo and become just the nation's second Olympic beach volleyball champions.
On Thursday evening in Paris (Friday morning, 5 a.m. AEST), the Australian duo will return to the sand, facing Brazil's Duda Lisboa and Ana Patricia Ramos for a place in the showpiece game once more.
Artacho Del Solar and Clancy hadn't been firing before these Olympics began; a series of unexpected losses on the BPT circuit had them plummet to 26th in the world rankings. But just as they did three years ago en route to that silver medal, the Australians have harnessed the energy and excitement of competing on the world's biggest stage. And for eleven days, they've been thriving under the watchful gaze of Le Tour Eiffel.
The team lost just once in the pool stage, to the United States, before dominating their round of 16 tie against Brazil's Carolina Solberg Salgado and Barbara Seixas de Freitas. They then knocked off the previously unbeaten Swiss team of Esmee Boebner and Zoe Verge-Depre 2-1 in an enthralling quarterfinal, one in which they had to overcome some serious early jitters.
"When one of us is down, the other one has her back. That's what teamwork is," Artacho Del Solar said after she and Clancy secured their second successive Olympic semifinal berth. "We were really patient and we trusted what we are capable of [and] in those pressure situations we made big plays."
The Australians snapped a 21-year medal drought with their achievement in Tokyo. Gold in Paris would elevate them above Kerri Pottharst and Natalie Cook -- who won gold in Sydney and bronze in Atlanta four years earlier -- as the country's most decorated beach volleyballers. And this time, they are getting to strut their stuff in front of packed grandstands, a stark contrast to the desolate Games of three years ago when fans were locked out amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We know if we play our best, it doesn't need to be perfect for us to get the win," Clancy told reporters on the eve of the knockout stage. "Every Olympic cycle is not the same. There are new teams, and the teams are stronger than they've ever been. It's good for the growth of our sport.
"I think the quality of volleyball was really high. I'm just proud that we're able to deliver in those moments and lean into the pressure when it is there. That's what these moments are all about."