European champions triumph in Jurmala

The home victory of reigning European champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots in Jurmala was the highlight of another intense week of beach volleyball in the continent, which had duos from Europe taking home all 12 medals in play across three Beach Pro Tour Futures events.

Besides the Latvians, duos from France, Sweden and Ukraine also triumphed in the tournaments held in Jurmala, Malmö and Kraków – teams from Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Norway and Spain also made it to the podium.

In Jurmala, the only of the three cities to host a double-gender event, Plavins and Fokerots confirmed the expectations, securing the title with a two-set (25-23, 21-19) victory over compatriots Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Gustavs Auzinš in the gold medal match.

Beach Pro Tour Jurmala Futures – Men

Bronze went to Lithuanians Audrius Knasas and Povilas Piesina, who overcame compatriots Arnas Rumsevicius and Karolis Palubinskas in straight sets (21-11, 21-9) to finish third in Jurmala.

The women’s event in Latvia had French Anouk Dupin and Marine Kinna as the winners. To take the title, the two defeated Estonians Eva Liisa Kuivonen and Liisa-Lotta Jürgenson in the three-set (21-18, 16-21, 15-9) gold medal match.

Estonia took a second duo to the podium after the country’s top team of Liisa Remmelg and Heleene Hollas topped Varvara Brailko and Anete Namiķe 2-0 (21-13, 21-16) in the bronze medal match, keeping hosts Latvia off the podium on the women’s side.

Beach Pro Tour Jurmala Futures – Women

Young Swedish triumph in Malmö

The men-only Malmö Futures also had a home team at the top of the podium, but not the one most people expected. Olympic champions David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig played in front of their home fans this week, but forfeited their semifinal and bronze medal match, ranking fourth.

Reigning U22 European champions Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson took Sweden to the top of the podium with a two-set (21-14, 21-17) victory over Germans Momme Lorenz and Tilo Rietschel in the gold medal match.

Beach Pro Tour Malmö Futures – Men

Benefited by Åhman and Hellvig’s forfeit, Spanish Álvaro Viera and Antonio Saucedo finished third and took bronze.

Ukrainian twins victorious in Kraków 

In Kraków, where only the women got to play this week, Ukrainian twins Inna and Iryna Makhno benefited from their large international experience to take the title.

The Ukrainians took gold after they defeated young Norwegians Frida Berntsen and Oda Løvø Steinsvåg in the tie-breaker (23-21, 20-22, 15-5) in the gold medal match.

Beach Pro Tour Kraków Futures – Women

Spanish Sofía Izuzquiza and Sofía González frustrated the local fans by defeating Polish Marta Lodej and Julia Kielak in two sets (21-18, 21-19) in the bronze medal match, keeping the home country out of the podium.

Next week, another three Beach Pro Tour events will be held from June 19-22. The Greek city of Ios and the Italian town of Messina will host double-gender tournaments, while the Swiss city of Geneva will welcome the men.

The Beach Pro Tour Futures events in Europe are run by the CEV in close cooperation with Volleyball World and provide teams from the continent with several opportunities to compete and gain valuable international ranking points.