Beach volleyball champs 'DON'T CALL US EYE CANDY!'
Woman’s Day Magazine NZ|January 31, 2022
Bay of Plenty brothers Sam & Ben get serious about sibling rivalry, mental health and love
ANNEMARIE QUILL
Beach volleyball champs 'DON'T CALL US EYE CANDY!'

Beach volleyball might conjure up memories of carefree days in the sand, but to Mount Maunganui brothers Sam and Ben O'Dea, it's all business and this summer, sibling rivalry has hit a new level, with the champion siblings splitting up after a decade of playing together.

In this season's New Zealand Beach Tour tournament, which decides who goes to the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Sam, 31, and Ben, 28, are competing against each other for a spot for the first time ever.

“But we're not calling it a break-up - more like a conscious unpairing," laughs Sam from the Bay of Plenty home he shares with his fiancée, Argentine model and volleyball player Agostina Nussbaum, adding that he almost pulled out of the sport altogether to focus on their relationship.

The past few years have been challenging for the brothers, whose mum Magdalena Bernhard worked long hours in the nearby kiwifruit orchards so her sons could follow their dream to be New Zealand's first beach volleyball Olympic medallists.

Having died suddenly of cancer in 2019, the single mother sadly never got to see her boys win gold at the prestigious Coop Beach tour in Switzerland, where she was born, last August, soon after they dramatically crashed out of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Thailand in July 2021.

この記事は Woman’s Day Magazine NZ の January 31, 2022 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Woman’s Day Magazine NZ の January 31, 2022 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

WOMAN’S DAY MAGAZINE NZのその他の記事すべて表示
TREASURE & TRAUMA
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

TREASURE & TRAUMA

The launch of the new season of Celebrity Treasure Island doubled as an eighth wedding anniversary celebration for contestant Millen Baird and his wife Siobhan Marshall, who came fourth on the show back in 2022.

time-read
1 min  |
August 31, 2024
JUDGE JAY-JAY
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

JUDGE JAY-JAY

Radio diva Jay-Jay Feeney delivers her verdict on your biggest dilemmas

time-read
2 分  |
August 31, 2024
CASEY'S BABY JOY 'OUR GIRL IS ALREADY SO LOVED'
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

CASEY'S BABY JOY 'OUR GIRL IS ALREADY SO LOVED'

The Te Puke gym owner refused to let a devastating accident stop her from becoming a mother

time-read
3 分  |
August 31, 2024
DEAD FUNNY! SHOSHANA'S GOING SOLO
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

DEAD FUNNY! SHOSHANA'S GOING SOLO

The Emmy Award-winning writer is starring in a macabre new comedy

time-read
3 分  |
August 31, 2024
TWO RAW SISTERS BABY MAKES THREE!
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

TWO RAW SISTERS BABY MAKES THREE!

Rosa and Margo have a new cookbook and bundle of joy on the way

time-read
3 分  |
August 31, 2024
HOME AND AWAY'S NEW MÃORI STAR
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

HOME AND AWAY'S NEW MÃORI STAR

The son of a Kiwi sporting Legend, Cantona Stewart is making waves in Summer Bay

time-read
2 分  |
August 31, 2024
TV STAR AIDEE 'THE NIGHT I ALMOST DIED'
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

TV STAR AIDEE 'THE NIGHT I ALMOST DIED'

The actress and director opens up about her terrifying ordeal

time-read
3 分  |
August 31, 2024
CARMEL SEPULONI  I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FIGHTER!
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

CARMEL SEPULONI I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FIGHTER!

Our former deputy PM the lessons she's learnt in politics on CTI

time-read
3 分  |
August 31, 2024
KENNEDY & SOLLY'S ROMANTIC RACE TO THE ALTAR
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

KENNEDY & SOLLY'S ROMANTIC RACE TO THE ALTAR

The Black Ferns co-captain and her rugby star husband organised the ir nuptials in just five days!

time-read
5 分  |
August 31, 2024
THE BRAD & GEORGE SHOW is back!
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

THE BRAD & GEORGE SHOW is back!

Their lovable bromance is stealing the spotlight in Venice!

time-read
1 min  |
August 31, 2024