The Montpellier Futures tournament on Sunday saw two players achieve their first-ever Beach Pro Tour gold medals, both supported by FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programs. In the men`s event, France`s Joadel Gardoque and his partner Elouan Chouikh-Barbez won gold, much to the delight of the local crowd. The silver medal went to Austria`s Robin Seidl & Alexander Huber, while Spain`s Alvaro Viera & Antonio Saucedo secured bronze. For the women, 19-year-old Spaniard Sofia Izuzquiza and her teammate Sofia Gonzalez claimed the top spot. France`s Elsa Descamps & Anouk Dupin finished second, earning the silver. Notably, all five teams who reached the podium in both genders at this event are beneficiaries of FIVB Volleyball Empowerment funding. The bronze medal in the women`s competition was won by American qualifiers Alexis Durish & Audrey Koenig.
FIVB Volleyball Empowerment provides significant support to national beach volleyball programs. France has received USD 1,077,000 for coach support, with their teams trained by Isabelle Kadjo, plus USD 5,500 for equipment. Spain`s federation has been allocated USD 378,000 for coaching, with Brazilian instructor Marco Stanzani working with their national teams. Austria`s program has received USD 84,000 for coach support and an additional USD 6,000 for coach development, with Greek coach Georgios Kotsilianos overseeing their men`s teams.
For 22-year-old Joadel Gardoque, this was his inaugural medal of any kind on the Beach Pro Tour, let alone a gold. He and his 23-year-old partner Elouan Chouikh-Barbez, who previously had one gold medal finish, had a dominant run at the Montpellier Futures, winning all five of their matches. In the semifinal, the top-seeded French pair defeated the fifth-seeded Spanish team of Alvaro Viera & Antonio Saucedo in straight sets, 2-0 (21-14, 21-19). The gold medal match saw Chouikh & Gardoque face experienced Olympians Robin Seidl & Alexander Huber of Austria. The French duo mounted a comeback after losing the first set, ultimately winning 2-1 (16-21, 22-20, 15-12).
In the other men`s semifinal, the third-seeded Austrian pair, Robin Seidl & Alexander Huber, defeated their seventh-seeded compatriots Felix Friedl & Florian Schnetzer 2-0 (21-11, 21-18). This win guaranteed Seidl & Huber their fourth Beach Pro Tour medal since partnering again at the start of the season; they now have two silvers and two bronzes.
The Spanish team, Viera & Saucedo, secured the bronze medal by winning the third-place playoff against Friedl & Schnetzer 2-0 (21-16, 21-13). This was their second consecutive bronze medal on the Beach Pro Tour, following their third-place finish at the recent Malmo Futures.
Sofia Izuzquiza, who won silver at last year`s FIVB U19 Beach Volleyball World Championship, celebrated her first medal on the Beach Pro Tour. The young Spanish player and her partner, Sofia Gonzalez (who previously won a gold medal three years ago), achieved their second podium finish together, adding to their bronze from the Krakow Futures last month. At Montpellier, the third-seeded Spanish duo reached the final with four consecutive straight-set wins. In the final against top-seeded French favorites Elsa Descamps & Anouk Dupin, they lost their first set of the tournament but ultimately prevailed 2-1 (21-17, 14-21, 15-9).
In the women`s semifinals, Izuzquiza & Gonzalez defeated the USA`s Alexis Durish & Audrey Koenig 2-0 (21-15, 23-21). In the other semifinal, Descamps & Dupin secured their first Beach Pro Tour medal as a team by beating the fourth-seeded Czech pair Martina Maixnerova & Kylie Neuschaeferova 2-0 (21-14, 21-15). Anouk Dupin, in particular, is having a remarkable season, reaching the podium in all five of her Tour appearances this year, with a tally of two golds, two silvers, and one bronze, achieved with four different partners.
The 21-year-old American duo, Alexis Durish & Audrey Koenig, claimed the women`s bronze medal with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) victory over Maixnerova & Neuschaeferova in the third-place playoff. This marks their second medal in only two Beach Pro Tour appearances, having won gold in their debut last week in Geneva. In Montpellier, they once again started from the qualification rounds and built a 12-match winning streak before being stopped by Izuzquiza & Gonzalez in the semifinals.
The Montpellier Futures event saw participation from 25 men`s teams and 26 women`s teams, representing 21 nations. The next Beach Pro Tour Futures tournament is scheduled for Leuven, Belgium, from July 18 to 21.
Finley Blackwood 
Oliver Wrenwick