Beach Volleyball - Team Nicolai/Lupo

General
Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo first teamed up back in 2011 and made their Olympic debut a year later in London. In 2016, they made history by winning Italy's first Olympic beach volleyball medal with silver in Rio.

In Rio, their run to the gold medal match came after a lucky loser play-off win to progress past the pool phase. They then defeated compatriots Adrian Carambula and Alex Ranghieri in the round of 16, before overcoming Russian teams in both the quarterfinals and semifinals. But the Brazilian pairing of Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt proved too strong in the gold medal match, claiming victory in straight sets. Four years earlier in London, Nicolai and Lupo were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Dutch duo Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil.

Nicolai and Lupo made the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Championships, their best result together at the event. At continental level, they claimed European championship titles in 2014, 2016 and 2017.