Europeans win five medals in Ostrava
Beach Pro Tour
The first Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite event held in Europe in the 2025 season was vastly successful for teams from the continent, who occupied five of the six spots on the podium in Ostrava, Czechia, on Sunday.
Reigning Olympic champions David Åhman of Sweden topped the men’s podium in Ostrava, which also featured Norwegian stars Anders Mol and Christian Sørum and home heroes and reigning world champions Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner. On the women’s side, Latvians Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova were second and Swiss sisters Anouk and Zoé Vergé-Dépré finished third.
In the men's gold medal match, Åhman and Hellvig came back after losing the first set to beat Mol and Sørum in the tie-breaker (28-30, 21-17, 15-7) and secure their first title since their victory at the Paris Olympics, in August 2024.
Jonatan Hellvig"It feels really good to win again, even more considering how well we played in the final. I’m super happy to have the gold medal again.”
Swedish Beach Volleyball Player
World champions and home heroes Perušič and Schweiner completed the all-European men’s podium in Ostrava and pleased the home fans with a two-set (23-21, 21-13) victory over Poles Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak in the bronze medal match.
Ondřej Perušič"It feels incredible. We wanted very much to win this medal for the great crowd here in Ostrava and for all the people who helped organize this amazing event. I’m very grateful for everyone involved with this tournament. We had a huge crowd here supporting us until the last day and I’m really glad that we delivered the medal this time."
Czech Beach Volleyball Player
Tina and Anastasija take silver
Europe also had a shot at winning gold in the women’s tournament in Czechia, but Latvian Olympians Tina and Anastasija couldn’t handle FIVB World Ranking leaders Thamela Coradelo and Victoria Lopes of Brazil and went down in straight sets (21-16, 21-11). The Europeans made their first podium appearance in the season in Ostrava.
The all-European bronze medal match in the Czech city reunited two pairs formed by sisters and had the Swiss Anouk and Zoé, a new duo for the 2025 season, overcoming the Austrians Dorina and Ronja Klinger in the tie-breaker (21-18, 16-21, 15-12) to claim the last spot in the podium.
Zoé Vergé-Dépré"It’s an amazing feeling because we just started. This is our first season and our fourth tournament. To end it on a high like this, gives us a lot of confidence and it was really beautiful to play here."
Swiss Beach Volleyball Player
The next Beach Pro Tour Elite event of the season will also the held in Europe, with the city of Gstaad, located in the Swiss Alps, hosting a tournament from July 2-6.