Beach volleyball star eyeing Olympics
Etobicoke’s Liz Maloney has conquered the country and is now looking to take on the world. Maloney, 26, with Toronto partner Heather Bansley, took gold in the recent Canadian beach volleyball championships at Ashbridges Bay. Maloney and Bansley defeated Liz Cordonier and Jaime Broder of Vancouver for the win, going 3-0 in the round robin and 4-0 in the playoffs during the championship weekend. Maloney said 17 teams from around Canada were fighting for gold.
This was Maloney’s third trip to the nationals but first win, also her first try with Bansley as a teammate, she said. An international circuit lasting until November will now see her travel to India, Mexico, China and Thailand to compete, she said. Beyond that, she and Bansley have their sights set on the London 2012 Olympic Games, she said.
But they will need help to get there. “Sponsors and fundraisers (are) basically how we fund our route to the Olympics,” she noted. Beach volleyball has become popular since being introduced at the Olympics in 1996, she said. “It is definitely a growing sport. At the Olympics it’s the number one sport watched after gymnastics I think.
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