European pairs reign supreme at Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games
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Teams from Europe were the dominant force in the Beach Volleyball competition of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games claiming five of the six medals at stake, including a clean sweep of the girls’ podium.
The reigning U18 European champions from Austria and the Netherlands captured the boys’ and girls’ gold medals respectively. Austria’s Paul Hohenauer and Martin Poinstingl claimed the boys’ title with a 2-1 (22-20, 13-21, 15-12) victory against Germany’s reigning U18 world champions Lasse Hüper and Filo Wüst, thereby completing an unbeaten tournament run in the tournament.
“We had analysed a lot of Germany games and knew it was going to be close. We had to stay calm and I think we were a little bit better than Germany today in the pressure moments,” Hohenauer stated.
Poinstingl reflected on their tiebreak mentality, adding,
“We came into the match with nothing to lose and I think that really helped us to just play our game. We did not play well in the second set so we had to stay focused in the third set, especially on our side-outs.”
Earlier this year, Hohenauer and Poinstingl had also claimed gold at the #EuroBeachVolleyU18 held in Izmir, Türkiye.
In the girls’ tournament, the Netherlands’ Jara Both and Matilda de Groot secured the gold medal with a 2-1 (21-16, 19-21, 15-11) victory against Italy’s Margherita Coretti and Micol Lafuenti.
“We were always hungry to win gold here and it is the best way to end the year,” both noted. De Groot added, “Bronze in the Hague (U18 World Championships) was good but we stepped up in this tournament and getting gold feels really nice.” The young Dutchwomen – just like Hohenauer and Poinstingl – had also stood at the top of the podium at this year’s #EuroBeachVolleyU18.
Switzerland's Anja Gähwiler and Noemi Eugster claimed the bronze medal with a 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) victory against China’s Ming Zhuang and Siyu Qi, avenging a defeat from the U18 World Championships and completing a clean sweep of the podium by European teams. They were greeted by IOC Honorary President Thomas Bach after their victory.
Previous editions of the Youth Olympic Games had crowned champions such as current superstars David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig. The Swedes claimed gold at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in 2018 and only six years later crowned themselves Olympic champions in Paris. If this is anything to go by, we should keep a close look at the Dakar 2026 medallists…
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