Joaquin Bello
Joaquin Bello (born 20 July 2000) is a British beach volleyball player. Together with his twin brother Javier, they are the current British No. 1 team since January 2019. They won the first World Tour medal for any British men’s team in 2019 and Britain’s first ever gold medal in 2021. At junior level they won gold in the Commonwealth Youth Games and placed 5th in the U19 World Championship and Youth Olympic Games. Junior career. Joaquin and Javier started playing volleyball at the age of 6 at their local club in Madrid. In 2011, their  family moved to London and they joined Richmond Volleyball Club, where they won multiple national championships in indoor and beach volleyball in all the underage categories. In 2016, the brothers started their international beach volleyball career and earned their first England cap at the U17 NEVZA Beach Volleyball Championships, eventually taking the gold medal. Beach volleyball made its Commonwealth Games debut in the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in Nassau, Bahamas. There, the duo won gold, helping England to top the medal table. Whilst in the middle of their A-levels, the Bello brothers qualified for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games  in Buenos Aires, making them the first ever British team to qualify for this competition. They clinched the 5th and last European spot for the Games by beating Hungary in the last playoff match. Representing Team GB for their first time, the brothers lost in the quarterfinal against host country Argentina, ending up in 5th place. They topped off 2018 with a 5th place at the U19 World Championships in Nanjing, China - Britain’s highest ever finish at any world junior event. Senior career. Joaquin played his first World Tour event in Aydin, Turkey in 2017. In 2019, the twins  won a bronze medal in Rubavu, Rwanda after being defeated by the eventual champions Japan in the semifinal. It was the first ever World Tour medal for a British men’s team. In 2021, they won their first World Tour gold medal in Cortegaça, Portugal, the first in British history. They followed that with another medal, a bronze at the World Tour event in Nijmegen. With his brother, he achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 50 in February 2022. On the national stage, they became British champions in 2020 and 2021, winning the UK Beach Tour Finals. Personal  life. After moving to London in 2011, Joaquin attended Gunnersbury Catholic School in Brentford, London. The brothers train in Barnes and are coached by their father Luis Bello, a former professional player and coach. Beach volleyball is a full family affair with their younger brother also playing volleyball and their mum coordinating their support team. Joaquin is currently studying Medicine at Imperial College School of Medicine.