As the head coach of the Argentinian national beach handball team and a gold medalist herself, Leticia Brunati will always have a place in the history of this sport. In 2018, she led Argentina’s girls’ and boys’ teams to gold and bronze medals respectively at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in their home country. It was the sport’s inaugural appearance at an Olympic event, and thanks to the incredible response it received there, beach handball is now closer than ever to being recognized as an Olympic sport at the adult level.
In 2020, the IHF made an initial request to the IOC that beach handball be included at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. It was rejected, in part due to limitations imposed by COVID-19 safety protocols, however, there is now renewed hope that the sport could be featured at the Paris games as an exhibition sport.
Playing exhibition games at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics would be an incredible opportunity for beach handball players and coaches, and the Argentinian teams are eagerly anticipating the chance to show off their skills at the international level.
Argentina stood out in the beach handball community for its technical abilities even before its success at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, due in large part to Leticia’s contributions. She recently participated in a clinic for athletes of all ages in Tunuyán on December 10, 2021.
“I am very happy to be here, I was not expecting this call, it is great that they want grow in this discipline ”, she said. “Here they are working hard to make the sport grow. Tunuyán is beautiful, the sports center is really impeccable and from the Muni they get the boys to get closer to the sport.”
Leticia’s presence at the clinic also forms part of the work she does as a recruiter for the national team, looking for new beach handball talent in communities around the country.
Tunuyán has already stood out in this regard, thanks to the many local beach handball athletes who have reached this level of play before. María Aveiro, the city’s Sports Director said: “Our court is one of the best in the country away from the beach. In March we hope to hold a national tournament with a view to the next Olympic games.”
