Ana Paula ditches holiday for Olympics

By Jane Barrett

BEIJING (Reuters) - Ana Paula Connelly was dreaming of a week's holiday in Los Angeles rather than sweating on the sand in Beijing when Brazil called her as a last minute replacement for the Olympic beach volleyball.

The 36-year-old was resting at home, phones off, with a ticket to fly and see her boyfriend in California when news came through that Juliana Felisberta da Silva was pulling out of the Games with a knee injury.

When her sister saw the news on television and ran to tell her she had to go to China, Ana Paula presumed it was an invitation to commentate on television.

"I was in shock ... I said 'No, no, I'm not going' because they all knew I was going to LA," the three-time Olympian said.

"Then it was just chaos to get everything ready. I had five hours before my flight, my son was crying his lungs out saying 'Don't go, Mummy'."

Ana Paula, who won an Olympic bronze in the 1996 indoor volleyball, was the chosen back-up for Brazil but had presumed her services would not be needed as Juliana seemed to be getting better from a knee injury she picked up in Paris in June.

She arrived in Beijing on Friday morning and drove straight to the beach volleyball stadium where her new partner Larissa Franca fell into her arms weeping.

They now have one day to get to know each other before taking to the Olympic sand on Saturday.

Ana Paula is sanguine about the challenge, having swapped partners several times since she switched from indoor to beach volleyball nine years ago.

"I've never played with her but I know her skills and everything because we play together so often so I don't think it'll be hard to click with her. I'm here to help her," she said.

"Like in any army, sometimes there is somebody who needs to be sent home and another soldier has to be ready for combat."

(Editing by Alison Williams)