Bruning a lethal weapon on sands of Taiwan

by Leila Hanaumi on September 13, 2009

There’s a name in the Deaflympics that opponents watch out for, and it belongs to Mike Bruning. The San Diegoan has returned to the Deaflympics with two silver medals and is determined to pursuit the gold that’s escaped him for the past 16 years.

Bruning, an Arizona native and member of the U.S. Men’s Beach Volleyball Team for the 2009 Taipei Deaflympics, discovered indoor volleyball at University of Arizona in 1991. After graduating with a degree in civil engineering,he moved to California to play beach volleyball.

His 20 years of involvement with volleyball and numerous international experiences has made him a great blocker, U.S. Men’s Beach Volleyball Head Coach Said Souikane said.

Bruning earned his first Deaflympics silver for indoor volleyball in 1993, and he won his second medal in 2005 for beach volleyball.

His beach volleyball career has only gone uphill since; Bruning was featured in SpikeKey Beach magazine in 2009 and recently was ranked fourth in the California Beach Volleyball Association player-ranking list.

Taipei is Bruning’s fifth Deaflympics, and he has a good feeling about this one.

“Dimitri Nikiforov is an amazing, skilled volley player — the best deaf player in the world,” Bruning said.

Bruning added that he is confident that with Nikiforov’s and his own skills combined, the pair has a high chance of winning the gold.

They’re well on their way — Bruning and Nikiforov are undefeated in 2009 Deaflympics play and will contend for the gold against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Poltoratskyi and Sergii Tarasov at 4 p.m. Monday at Pacific Green Bay Beach Resort.

Bruning a lethal weapon on sands of Taiwan

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