When Two Accomplished Athletes

WHEN TWO ACCOMPLISHED ATHLETES combine their forces, the results can be impressive. During the 2003 beach volleyball season, Brazil’s Ricardo Alex Costa Santos joined with Emanuel Rego to create an incredible duo. The pair started the season slowly but then won five of the last seven Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) tournaments, including the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Santos and Rego played two matches together during the 2002 season and decided to compete together full-time in 2003. After cruising through their earlier matches at the world championships, the Brazilian pair met Americans Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger in the finals. Holdren and Metzger had only played in one tournament before the world championships. Their hustling, aggressive style had surprised a lot of teams . . . but not the experienced Brazilians.

In the finals, Santos and Rego defeated the U.S. pair 21–18, 21–15 to claim the title. The Americans had played a nearly flawless semifinal to qualify for the last match, but they couldn’t repeat their performance as the Brazilians proved too powerful and skilled in front of their home-country fans.

The 44-minute victory marked Rego’s 41st gold on the FIVB circuit, while Santos earned his 20th.

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POINT Ricardo Alex Costa Santos and Emanuel Rego made a powerful pair. They dominated the beach volleyball circuit in 2003 and brought home the world championship. Their teamwork proved unbeatable.

In the New Testament, a lot of God’s followers showed amazing teamwork. Many times in the book of Acts a pair of Christians would go off to spread God’s Good News. The apostle Paul had a lot of partners who helped him on his missionary trips. He always had somebody with him to assist in preaching the gospel. One of Paul’s helpers was Titus—and the two of them made a dream team for Christ.

GOAL! Standing alone for Jesus Christ can be hard. Sometimes you have to do it, but it’s nice to have a partner to help you. Thank God for friends who can help you bring glory to God.