Teams from Latvia and Netherlands crowned #EuroBeachVolleyU22 champions in Madrid
News
After five intense days of competition, teams from Latvia and the Netherlands were crowned U22 Beach Volleyball European Champions under intense heat in Madrid.
In the men’s final, Latvia’s Gustavs Auzins and Kristians Fokerots completed the cycle. In their farewell to the youth categories, they claimed the continental gold to add to the U21 world title they won the previous year. Auzins and Fokerots completed a perfect tournament without dropping a single set, further expanding their already impressive record. In the final, they clearly defeated their neighbours from Lithuania (21-18, 21-19), who had arrived at the event relying on Povilas Piesina’s 209 cm frame and Dovydas Sinkevicius’s defensive work. The bronze medal went to Norway’s Even Stray Aas and Jonah Andre Kjemperud, who beat Switzerland’s Daniel Allemann and Mathis Kälin in the consolation final in a tie-break, 21-13, 18-21, 15-4.
Gustavs Auzins capped off a weekend that reflected his love affair with Madrid, where this year he claimed gold from the Beach Pro Tour Futures event held in May:
“The first emotion I felt was relief after we won, and at the end it was a bit stressful.” About Madrid: “It is amazing. I feel this is a good place for me, I like these conditions. We were talking earlier about how it has perfect training facilities, a lot of courts for youth players. So yeah, it is amazing here.”
Kristians Fokerots (LAT)“I feel relieved because this was our last game in under-age tournaments like forever, and we ended up with a gold medal. It was the last one we were missing, and I just feel really happy. I believe we will play together again someday in the big league. I cannot imagine a better ending than this.”
In the women’s tournament, the Netherlands denied Latvia a clean sweep of the gold medals with a hard-fought win in the tie-break. Dutch duo Nigella Negenman and Floor Hogenhout claimed gold in a tight tie-break (21-13, 16-21, 18-16) against Latvians Līva Ēbere and Deniela Konstantinova. The Dutchwomen, who had already won two Beach Pro Tour Futures events this season (in Leuven and Rzeszow), dominated the first set, only to see the Latvian pair force a tie-break. The two teams traded control of the scoreboard, and the Latvians were the first to hold a championship point, which they were unable to convert. The Dutch pair made the most of their third opportunity to claim the gold.
Nigella Negenman“I am really happy. We did not play our best game in the final, but I am really happy we could finish the tournament like this. We are going to work really hard to secure a bright future. So hopefully we can make the most of it.”
Floor Hogenhout“I still cannot believe it. It is just a bit unreal for now, but happy to share this moment together. I hope we grow a lot more in our game and maybe play some good matches at higher levels. So, let’s aim for that.”
Bronze went to Czech sisters Katerina and Anna Pavelkova, who got the better of local pair Sofía Izuzquiza and Adriana Serrano (21-17, 21-12). The Madrid duo could not play prophets on home sand and were left off the podium in the face of the Czechs’ push and Adriana Serrano’s heat-related illness, which required medical attention during the match.
Beyond the results, the championship also stood out as an organisational and sporting success, with Madrid’s facilities drawing praise throughout the week. The event further confirmed that the standout names of the youth categories are no longer just the stars of tomorrow, but are already among the best in the sport today. Sofía Izuzquiza, runner-up at this year’s senior European Championship, and new continental champion Gustavs Auzins, who already knows what it is to play an Elite16, both underlined that the gap between the age-group ranks and the top of the sport continues to narrow. Moreover, Kristians Fokerots is already a senior European champion – courtesy of his incredible run with Martins Plavins in the 2024 edition of the event held in the Netherlands.