Austrian beach volleyball veteran Alexander Horst, a 42-year-old four-time Olympian and 2017 World Championship silver medalist, along with his new partner Moritz Pristauz, has successfully secured their spot in the main draw of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour for the second time this season. Following a strong debut performance at the Hamburg Elite qualifiers, the duo replicated their success at the Veracruz Challenge in Mexico, with the main draw scheduled to kick off on Thursday.
Entering the 15-team qualification bracket as the second seed, Horst and Pristauz delivered a commanding 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) victory over Poland`s 2024 U19 world champions, Szymon Pietraszek and Jakub Krzeminski, during Wednesday`s single-round qualifiers. Pristauz was particularly instrumental, tallying 18 points, including four crucial blocks, while Horst contributed 12 points, highlighted by an ace. The Austrian pair, now seeded 24th in the 32-team main draw, is set to open their tournament campaign on Thursday against the ninth-seeded American duo of Chaim Schalk and James Shaw.
The men`s qualifiers on Wednesday also featured a protracted and intensely competitive all-American battle. After a grueling 48-minute encounter, the 14th-seeded pair of Lev Priima and Ryan Wilcox narrowly edged out their third-seeded compatriots, Timothy Brewster and Ryan Ierna, with a tight 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 16-14) victory, thus eliminating them from contention. In contrast, the top-seeded American team, Evan Cory and Derek Bradford, advanced directly to the main draw with a bye.
Further excitement unfolded with another three-set match of the day, where Mexico’s Antonio Lares and Carlos Andres Ayala thrilled the local fans with a 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 15-11) win against Switzerland’s Florian Breer and Luc Fluckiger. Australian Olympian Thomas Hodges and his teammate Paul Burnett progressed by defeating Belgium`s 2023 U21 world champions, Kyan Vercauteren and Joppe Van Langendonck, in straight sets, 2-0 (21-18, 21-14). New Zealand’s Bradley Fuller and Ben O`Dea also secured a decisive 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) victory over England’s Issa Batrane and Frederick Bialokoz. Denmark’s Mads Mollgaard and Nicolai Hovmann overcame Germany’s Jonas Reinhardt and Robin Sowa 2-0 (21-19, 21-12), and Norway’s Nils Gunnar Ringoen and Even Stray Aas celebrated a 2-0 (23-21, 21-15) win against Canada’s Tynan Gannett and Luke de Greeff. Notably, despite their loss, the Canadian team earned a spot in the main draw as lucky losers.
The main draw for the men`s competition at the Veracruz Challenge is scheduled to commence on Thursday at 14:00 local time (20:00 UTC).
Oliver Wrenwick