Four teams representing federations that receive support from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program achieved medal success at the Ios Futures event held in Greece last week. Ukrainian twins Inna Makhno and Iryna Makhno claimed the women`s gold medal, marking their second consecutive win on the Beach Pro Tour in as many weeks. Greece’s Elisavet Triantafillidi and Dimitra Manavi earned silver, much to the delight of the local spectators. France’s Saofe Duval and Marilu Pally secured the bronze. In the men`s competition, the Austrian pair Robin Seidl and Alexander Huber took home the bronze medal. Belgian brothers Gilles and Louis Vandecaveye celebrated their first-ever Beach Pro Tour gold, while Spain’s Daniel Moreno and Roberto Sanfelix finished with silver.
The FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program has been actively supporting the Ukraine Volleyball Federation since 2022 through a standing Memorandum of Understanding, providing substantial funding totalling USD 670,000 to facilitate their volleyball and beach volleyball operations. Having secured their first Beach Pro Tour gold nearly three years ago, Ukraine’s Makhno and Makhno added their second at the Krakow Futures this month, swiftly followed by their third victory just one week later in Ios. The third-seeded Ukrainian team experienced a setback losing their pool final to Duval and Pally, which necessitated navigating the longer route through the elimination rounds to reach the semifinals. There, they got their rematch against the French duo, securing revenge with a decisive 2-0 (21-17, 21-13) win. The final match was a tense battle, culminating in the Makhno twins securing a tight 2-1 (21-17, 19-21, 18-16) victory over the favored Greek home team of Triantafillidi and Manavi.
The beach volleyball department of the Greek federation has received a total of USD 262,500 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support. This funding benefits their national pairs, who train under the guidance of coaches Konstantinos Pothitakis and Efstathios Chandrinos. The fourth-seeded Greek team of Triantafillidi and Manavi effectively utilized their home-sand advantage to reach their inaugural Beach Pro Tour final. Their semifinal match saw them claim a narrow 2-0 (22-20, 21-19) victory against the fifth-seeded Japanese duo, Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame, thereby guaranteeing their second career podium finish on the Tour.
France`s beach volleyball program has also been a significant recipient of coach support funding from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, with allocations totalling USD 1,077,000 to date. Their women’s national pairs are coached by Youssef Krou. Additionally, the Federation Francaise de Volleyball received USD 5,500 specifically for beach volleyball equipment. To secure their first-ever podium finish as a pair on the Tour, the sixth-seeded Duval and Pally rebounded strongly from their semifinal loss in Ios, winning the bronze medal match against Sakura and Sawame with a straightforward 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) scoreline.
Austria`s beach volleyball efforts have been supported by USD 84,000 in coach funding from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment. An additional USD 6,000 was allocated for a knowledge transfer program aimed at developing national team coaches. Greek coach Georgios Kotsilianos is responsible for coaching their men`s national duos. The experienced Rio 2016 Olympians Seidl and Huber, seeded fifth in Ios, added their third Tour medal since partnering again at the beginning of this season. This bronze medal follows their silver at the Songkhla Futures and bronze at the Battipaglia Futures earlier in the season. They secured third place in Ios by convincingly defeating Held and Nissen 2-0 (21-16, 21-15) in the bronze medal match.
Vandecaveye and Vandecaveye had previously won three Beach Pro Tour medals, but in Greece they finally stood atop the podium for the first time. The sixth-seeded Belgian brothers dominated the men’s tournament, completing an undefeated run of five matches. They secured their place in the final with a 2-0 (21-17, 21-7) win over the 11th-seeded German pair, Niklas Held and Hennes Jorge Nissen, in the semifinal, and then claimed gold with a hard-fought 2-0 (21-16, 23-21) victory over Moreno and Sanfelix in the final.
The seventh-seeded Spanish pair Moreno and Sanfelix finished as silver medalists, earning their first-ever Beach Pro Tour medal. Their path to the final included a notable 2-1 (21-11, 18-21, 15-12) upset win against the higher-seeded Seidl and Huber in the semifinals.
The Ios Futures tournament saw the participation of 22 men’s teams and 21 women’s teams, representing a total of 22 different countries. The next Futures event on the calendar is a women’s tournament set to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from June 26 to 29.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood