Reigning European champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots secured a prominent home victory at the Jurmala Beach Pro Tour Futures, marking a successful week for European beach volleyball as teams from the continent claimed all 12 medals available across three Futures events.
European champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots topped the podium in Jurmala
Beyond the Latvian success, French, Swedish, and Ukrainian pairs also celebrated wins in Jurmala, Malmö, and Kraków respectively. Additional podium finishes were achieved by teams representing Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, and Spain.
In Jurmala, which uniquely hosted both men`s and women`s events, Plavins and Fokerots lived up to expectations by winning the men`s title. They defeated fellow Latvians Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Gustavs Auzinš in straight sets (25-23, 21-19) in the final match.
The men`s bronze medal in Jurmala went to Lithuanians Audrius Knasas and Povilas Piesina, who beat their compatriots Arnas Rumsevicius and Karolis Palubinskas convincingly in straight sets (21-11, 21-9).
The women`s tournament in Latvia was won by French duo Anouk Dupin and Marine Kinna. They claimed the title after a three-set victory (21-18, 16-21, 15-9) against Estonians Eva Liisa Kuivonen and Liisa-Lotta Jürgenson in the gold medal match.
The women`s podium in Jurmala featured a team from France and two from Estonia
Estonia secured a second medal with their top team of Liisa Remmelg and Heleene Hollas, who defeated Latvian hosts Varvara Brailko and Anete Namiķe 2-0 (21-13, 21-16) in the bronze medal match, preventing Latvia from reaching the women`s podium.
Young Swedish pair triumphs in Malmö
The men`s-only Malmö Futures also saw a home team win, though it wasn`t the expected outcome. Olympic champions David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig withdrew from their semifinal and bronze medal matches, finishing fourth.
Sweden, Germany, and Spain took podium spots in Malmö
Instead, reigning U22 European champions Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson brought glory to Sweden by winning the gold medal match in two sets (21-14, 21-17) against Germans Momme Lorenz and Tilo Rietschel.
Benefiting from Åhman and Hellvig’s withdrawal, Spanish pair Álvaro Viera and Antonio Saucedo were awarded the bronze medal.
Ukrainian twins victorious in Kraków
In Kraków, host of a women`s-only event, Ukrainian twins Inna and Iryna Makhno utilized their extensive international experience to claim the title.
Ukraine, Norway, and Spain were the medalists in Kraków
The Ukrainian sisters won gold after a hard-fought tie-breaker (23-21, 20-22, 15-5) against young Norwegians Frida Berntsen and Oda Løvø Steinsvåg in the final.
In the bronze medal match, Spanish duo Sofía Izuzquiza and Sofía González defeated Polish hopefuls Marta Lodej and Julia Kielak in straight sets (21-18, 21-19), keeping the host nation off the podium in Kraków.
Looking ahead, three more Beach Pro Tour events are scheduled from June 19-22. Both Ios, Greece, and Messina, Italy, will host double-gender tournaments, while Geneva, Switzerland, will stage a men`s-only competition.
The Beach Pro Tour Futures events across Europe are organized by the CEV in collaboration with Volleyball World, offering valuable opportunities for European teams to compete internationally and earn ranking points.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood