It has been nearly seven years since they played together, but Beijing 2008 Olympic Games participants Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs are back together. The Beijing appearance capped a successful 41-event FIVB partnership that saw the Latvians open the 2008 Olympics with a win over eventual gold medal winners Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States before placing ninth in the Summer Games. After Beijing, Plavins and Samoilovs continued playing internationally with different partners. While Samoilovs finished ninth in the 2012 Olympic Games in London with Ruslans Sorokins, Plavins placed on the podium with Jan Smedins by netting the bronze medal. Interestingly, Plavins replaces Smedins as Samoilovs’ 2015 World Championship partner after recently capturing the gold medal at the European Games with Haralds Regza. Samoilovs – who teamed with Smedins to become the top team on the FIVB World Tour in 2013 and 2014 – and Plavins captured the gold medal at the 2005 FIVB U21 World Championships in Rio de Janeiro. The pair competed in 35 FIVB World Tour events together with a pair of fifth-places (Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy 2007 and Barcelona, Spain 2008) for their top finishes. The pair placed 37th in 2007 (Gstaad) in their only appearance together in the FIVB World Championships. Plavins and Smedins were fourth at the 2011 (Rome) World Championships. Samoilovs and Smedins were ninth at the 2013 (Stare Jablonki) World Championship event.