France and Poland victorious at U20 EuroBeachVolley
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The second Age Group continental championship of the season, the U20 EuroBeachVolley came to an end on Sunday in Riga, Latvia, with teams from France and Poland stepping at the top of the podium and celebrating their dominance in the category.
The men’s winners were French Arthur Canet and Téo Rotar, who secured the second gold medals in their youth careers, while the women’s champions were Poland’s Malgorzata Ciezkowska and Urszula Lunio. The U20 EuroBeachVolley had 69 duos from 33 countries in contention.
The 2021 U19 world champions, Canet and Rotar entered the tournament as one of the favorites, especially after their solid campaign at the 2023 A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley, which saw the young French finish ninth in their first appearance in the event two weeks ago.
Canet, 18, and Rotar, 19, were dominant in Riga, winning all their seven matches in straight sets, including the gold medal match, where they got revenge from Austrians Tim Berger and Timo Hammarberg, who had defeated them at last year’s final, with a two-set (26-24, 21-15) victory. The two became the first French duo to take the title in the Age Group.
Arthur Canet“Losing the title last year because Téo got injured in the final was very hard to digest and we really wanted to win this year. There was a lot of pressure, especially on the first set, which was decided in small details. In the second set, we had more control of the game. We didn’t come here expecting to win, but we knew we had the ability to do it. I’m glad things went so well for us.”
U20 European Beach Volleyball Champion
The home fans got to celebrate the presence of a Latvian duo on the podium as 19-year-old Olivers Bulgacs and 18-year-old Kristians Fokerots finished third in Riga. In the bronze medal match, the two overcame Polish Szymon Beta and Filip Lejawa in the tie-breaker (19-21, 21-14, 15-9).
If Poland was left out of the men's podium, that certainly wasn't the case in the women’s event thanks to the somewhat surprising victory of Ciezkowska and Lunio. The two also went undefeated in Riga, winning all their seven matches in the tournament with just two sets dropped.
In the gold medal match, the 18-year-old Ciezkowska and the 19-year-old Lunio met the 2021 U18 European champions, Swiss Muriel Bossart and Leona Kernen, who they had already faced in pool play, and prevailed again, taking the title with a 2-1 (21-17, 13-21, 15-11) victory. Their triumph took Poland to the top of the podium in the event for the first time since 2012, when Katarzyna Kociolek and Jagoda Gruszczynska won the title.
The reigning U18 European champions, Czech twins Anna and Katerina Pavelkova stepped on the podium in Riga too as they finished third after their straight-set (21-11, 21-17) victory over Austrians Lia Berger and Lilli Hohenauer in the bronze medal match.
The third and last Age Group European Championship of the season, the U18 EuroBeachVolley will be played next week, from August 23-27, in Madrid, Spain.