Switzerland and the Netherlands combine for five medals in Leuven
Futures in Europe
Immanuel Zürcher and Jonathan Jordan led another successful weekend for European teams on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour at the Futures level, winning gold in the tournament held in Leuven, Belgium, which saw duos from the continent claim five of the six medals in play.
It was a successful weekend in particular for Switzerland, which earned three medals in the event held at the Monseigneur Ladeuzeplein, and the Netherlands, which saw two of their teams make it to the podium.
Zürcher, 22, and Jordan, 23, were the winners of the men’s event in Belgium. The two overcame Dutch Dirk Boehlé and Mees Sangers in straight sets (21-18, 21-18) in the gold medal match to claim not only their first title, but also the first international medal in their careers – they had a fifth-place finish at the Messina Futures as their best result this season entering the event in Belgium.
Immanuel Zürcher and Jonathan Jordan“It's a great feeling to be on the podium here in Leuven. It's great that our tactics, which we designed with our coach Dave Scheidegger, worked out so well and that we were able to achieve our best result so far today.”
Swiss Beach Volleyball Players
Switzerland also prevailed in the men’s bronze medal match, with Tokyo Olympian Adrian Heidrich and partner Leo Dillier denying Belgium a medal at home with their three-set (11-21, 21-16, 15-7) victory over the Vandecaveye brothers Gilles and Louis.
The women’s tournament had Chinese Jinjin Zheng and Meimei Lin at the top of the podium for a second-straight year. The winners of the 2022 Leuven Futures, they did it again on Sunday by topping Dutch Wies Bekhuis, the winner of the Ios Futures, and Kirsten Bröring in the two-set (21-16, 21-15) gold medal match in Belgium.
Switzerland also made its way to the podium among the women, with Menia Bentele, a 2022 CEV Nations Cup winner, and Anna Lutz topping compatriots Leona Kernen and Annique Niederhauser in straight sets (21-14, 21-12) in the bronze medal match.
After the conclusion of the event in Leuven, there will be a three-week break until the next Futures tournament in Europe, which will take place in Warsaw, Poland, from August 10-13, right after the 2023 EuroBeachVolley.
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 ranking points during the Olympic qualification period for the Paris 2024 Games.