Alex Ranghieri on his return to competition after injury and the coronavirus crisis

Ljubljana, Slovenia. Alex Ranghieri is an elite Italian Beach Volleyball player with a decade-long international career, with three gold medals and many top ten finishes from the FIVB World Tour to his name. In 2015, he secured a silver medal from the European Championship held in Klagenfurt and a year later, he competed at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro together with his former partner Adrian Carambula – finishing in ninth place.  

Ranghieri started playing Beach Volleyball after he decided he prefers travelling the world to the indoor Volleyball lifestyle. “I was a Volleyball player, but when I started playing Beach Volleyball, I got a very special feeling about this sport. It is way better to spend your life traveling around the world and spending your time on a beach, instead of traveling up and down your own country and playing matches in indoor arenas,” he says. 

The 33-year-old from Pordenone likes many other sports, too, especially basketball and football, but Beach Volleyball always comes first. Ranghieri, who recovered from injury and many other issues, is slowly returning to the sport, this time with his new partner Daniele Sablone, who is a real newcomer to international competition. Despite this, the newly established Italian tandem has big plans for the future: “After everything I have been through, I just want to come back stronger. First, we need to improve our European and World ranking and we are hoping to qualify for the Olympic Games as well, if they will be taking place in 2021. That’s the goal.”

Italian Beach Volleyball star Alex Ranghieri (left) and new partner Daniele Sablone competing at the 1-Star tournament in Ljubljana

 The coronavirus crisis has affected everyone, including athletes, who consequently could not compete, and therefore, many have had to adjust their programmes and routines. Alex did not mind the change: “I became a painter, I built stuff, and I started cleaning up my stuff. I have been very busy. I worked out in my garage and organised a number of barbecues, spending a lot of time with my family. I usually do not get many opportunities to share moments with my loved ones, because I am always travelling to different spots, up to 7,000 km away from home, so I was happy to be able to spend more time with them,” Alex admits. 

Even though Ranghieri has returned to focus on Beach Volleyball again, he intends to continue to do some other things in the future, too. “I like to spend time with my girlfriend, and I like motocross, downhill, and kayaking. I like high-adrenaline activities. I also like buying houses and investing money in the real estate business. It takes a lot of effort but it makes me happy,” one of the superstars of the 1-Star tournament in Ljubljana concluded. 

Click here for further information on the Ljubljana 1-Star.

Source:
CEV – European Volleyball