Zara Dampney

Zara Dampney (born 10 June 1986) is a British beach volleyball player, and former indoor volleyball player. She was chosen as one of the two players to take the home nation qualification spot at the 2012 Summer Olympics, with teammate Shauna Mullin.

Zara Dampney
Dampney during the 2012 Summer Olympics
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1986-06-10) 10 June 1986
Christchurch, Dorset, England
HometownBath, Somerset
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
Years Teammate Tours (points)
2012 Shauna Mullin FIVB World Tour (125)
Previous teammates
Teammate
Liane Herbert
Lucy Boulton

Early life

Dampney was born in Christchurch on 10 June 1986,[1] and lived throughout her childhood in Dorset. She played indoor volleyball whilst a student at Parkstone Grammar School,[2][3] and after school went to the University of Sheffield where she studied for a law degree.[2] She competed for the British adult team in indoor volleyball at the age of sixteen,[4] and was a member of Wessex Volleyball Club.[3]

Career

After completing her university degree, she made her début on the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball tour in 2009, and was part of the first British team to compete on the tour for a decade. The team finished in ninth position in that event, which remains Dampney's highest finish on the tour.[4]

Whilst on the tour, along with her partner Shauna Mullin, she sold advertising space on the back of her bikini bottoms, hosting a QR code for bookmaker Betfair.[5] They competed at the Olympic test event in London, and won all of their group games, but were defeated in the second knockout round by the Brazilian team who went on to win the tournament.[6]

Dampney and Mullin were awarded the host nation place for the beach volleyball at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where the events took place on Horse Guards Parade. They were the first British pair to compete in the sport at an Olympic Games.[7] As of the announcement that they were to compete in the Olympics, Dampney and Mullin were ranked 37th in the world.[8]

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, they did not qualify from group F, but played well enough to play in the lucky loser match, where they lost to the Schwaiger sisters of Austria.[9][10]

References
  1. "Zara Dampney". Team GB. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  2. "Zara Dampney". Tyler Sports Management. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  3. Wadley, Ian (3 July 2012). "London 2012: Wessex pride as Dampney is latest of club's former stars to gain Games status". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  4. "Zara Dampney". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  5. "Bum deal for beach volleyball stars". Irish Independent. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  6. "Zara Dampney profile". BBC Sport. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  7. "London 2012: Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin selected for Games". BBC Sport. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  8. Ross, Sam (2 July 2012). "Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin land Team GB beach volleyball places". Metro. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  9. "Zara Dampney Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  10. "beach volleyball women results - Beach volleyball - London 2012 Olympics". www.olympic.org. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
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