Åhman/Hellvig, Graudina/Samoilova secure unprecedented double global crown for Europe

To complete an incredibly successful and truly unprecedented year of glory for European Volleyball, Sweden’s David Åhman/Jonatan Hellvig and Latvia’s Tina Graudina/Anastasija Samoilova crowned themselves Beach Volleyball World champions in Adelaide – the very first time in the history of the event that both the men’s and women’s gold medal winners come from Europe. 

The men’s competition ended with the top four spots all taken by teams from Europe and in an unprecedented all-Swedish gold medal match, where the reigning Olympic champions Åhman and Hellvig beat their younger teammates and training partners Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson (25-23, 21-19). It was only the second time in history two teams from the same nation did compete for the global crown – two tandems from Brazil had stood on opposite sides of the net in 2011, when Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego beat Marcio Araujo and Ricardo Santos. Åhman and Hellvig add a World championship title to two EuroBeachVolley crowns (2022 and 2023) and to their glorious moment from last year’s Paris Olympic Games. As for Hölting Nilsson and Andersson, this is their first medal in a major ‘senior’ competition. 

France’s Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat completed their sensational run in Adelaide with a historic bronze medal for their country – they lost to Hölting Nilsson and Andersson in the semis but regrouped to stun Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallists Clemens Wickler and Niels Ehlers of Germany in the bronze medal game. Rotar and Gauthier-Rat have secured France’s first podium finish since the World Championships were introduced in 1997. 

Europe’s golden Sunday continued with Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova – the only European team in the Top 4 of the competition – emerging victorious from a closely contested final with USA’s Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth Brusher (21-15, 15-21, 15-11). Graudina and Samoilova become only the second women’s team from Europe to secure the global title – after Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst had done so in Vienna in 2017. Graudina and Samoilova are two-time European champions (2019, 2022) and their performances ‘Down Under’ further cement the status of Latvia as a real Beach Volleyball powerhouse. 

The standout performances in Adelaide complete a truly memorable year for Europe’s Volleyball family – which now holds all four global titles as only a few weeks ago Italy had triumphed at both the Women’s and Men’s Volleyball World Championships.