Swedish teams reign supreme on home sand in Göteborg

Sweden capped a memorable weekend at the Beach Center by claiming four out of six medals at stake at the annual NEVZA Beach Sweden, the season-ending stop of the North European Beach Volleyball Tour. Over three days, 32 teams – 16 per gender – competed at the world’s largest indoor Beach Volleyball arena where the hosts delivered a classy performance to fulfil the high expectations of the local organisers and fans.

An all-Swedish men’s final saw Stefan Andreasson (Göteborg BC) / Anton Andersson (Malmö BC) go one better than last year, overcoming compatriots Martin Appelgren and Jakob Wijk Tegenrot in straight sets (22-20, 21-17) to secure gold. Denmark’s Christian Lundby Andersen/Jacob Stein Brinck completed the podium.

In the women’s event, Norway’s Ingrid Tunby-Lunde/Solveig Gladsøy Sunde edged Sweden’s Isabelle Reffel (Lidingö SK) / Fanny Åhman (Stöcke IF) in a tight three-set final (21-19, 15-21, 15-11). Sweden added a second women’s medal as Helene Jernbeck (Slow Down Beachvolley) / Sara Cavretti (The Beach) earned bronze by defeating Norway’s top-seeded Nina Pavlova/Tale Adine Fosseli 21-18, 21-16.

The event again coincided with the Halloween Cup, which brought nearly 400 participants into the venue and contributed to a festive atmosphere across the Beach Center’s 16 indoor courts.

Local hosts Gothenburg Beach Volleyball Club delivered a smooth-running tournament that underlined the city’s growing Beach Volleyball credentials.

Podiums 

Women
1) Lunde/Sunde (NOR)
2) Reffel/Åhman (SWE) 
3) Jernbeck/Cavretti (SWE) 

Men 
1) Andreasson/Andersson (SWE)
2) Appelgren/Wijk Tegenrot (SWE)
3) Andersen/Brinck (DEN)

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Pictures courtesy of Daniel Johansson