At last week`s Budapest Futures Beach Pro Tour, teams benefiting from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program achieved outstanding results, securing five out of six possible medals, including both golds. In the men`s final, Norway`s Nils Gunnar Ringoen and Even Stray Aas triumphed over Dutch opponents Tom Sonneville and Quinten Groenewold. Hungarian athletes Artur Hajos and Bence Attila Streli delighted the home crowd by claiming bronze medals. In the women`s competition, Czech pair Veronika Kleiblova and Andrea Lorenzova (featured in the main photo) overcame Lithuania`s Ieva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite in the decisive match. The sixth medal, the women`s bronze, went to Spain`s Ana Vergara and Nazaret Florian.
The Norwegian National Volleyball Federation (Norges Volleyballforbund) has received a total of USD 252,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment grant support for its national beach volleyball teams, with Jetmund Bernsten leading the men`s duos. An additional USD 6,000 was allocated for a national team coaches development knowledge transfer program. The Netherlands Volleyball Federation (Nevobo) has been granted USD 217,600 from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment for coach support for its men`s beach volleyball teams, who are trained by Michiel van der Kuip, a 1995 European champion as a player, and his staff. The beach volleyball department of the Hungarian Volleyball Federation received USD 126,000 in coach support for its men`s duos, led by Polish coach Robert Zuchowski, plus another USD 6,000 for a national team coach development knowledge transfer program.
Nils Gunnar Ringoen and his 19-year-old partner Even Stray Aas secured their third Beach Pro Tour medal as a pair and reached the top of the podium for the first time. The eighth-seeded Norwegians remained undefeated in all five of their matches in the Hungarian capital. Their victorious campaign included an upset 2-0 (26-24, 21-15) win over fourth-seeded Hungarians Artur Hajos & Bence Attila Streli in the semifinals, followed by a tight 2-1 (21-18, 19-21, 16-14) victory against fifth-seeded Tom Sonneville & Quinten Groenewold of the Netherlands in the final.
Groenewold and his 17-year-old teammate completed the tournament with a 4-2 win-loss record, celebrating their first Beach Pro Tour silver medal. The Dutch pair were scheduled to face top-seeded compatriots Yannick Verberne & Leon Luini in the other semifinal but secured their podium spot when Verberne & Luini forfeited the match. Verberne & Luini subsequently withdrew from the third-place playoff as well, handing the bronze medal to the home favorites, Hajos & Streli. This marked their third Beach Pro Tour podium finish as a duo and their second consecutive, following a silver medal at the Bujumbura Futures last month.
The Czech Volleyball Federation has received USD 168,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for its women’s beach volleyball teams, along with an additional USD 24,000 for national team coach development knowledge transfer programs. Czech women’s pairs benefit from the expertise of Argentinian coach Sebastian Menegozzo. The beach volleyball department of the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation has been granted a total of USD 477,000 from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment for coach support for its national duos, plus another USD 12,000 for national team coach development knowledge transfer programs. Their women’s pairs train under the guidance of Paulius Matulis and Austrian coach Simon Nausch.
Andrea Lorenzova and 19-year-old Veronika Kleiblova achieved their first-ever Beach Pro Tour podium finish. The ninth-seeded Czech pair lost only one set across their five matches in Budapest. In the semifinals, they delivered a dominant 2-0 (21-18, 21-12) performance against fifth-seeded Elisavet Triantafillidi & Dimitra Manavi of Greece. In the final, the Czech duo staged an upset, mastering a 2-0 (21-14, 21-17) victory over second-seeded Lithuanians Ieva Dumbauskaite & Gerda Grudzinskaite.
For Dumbauskaite & Grudzinskaite, this marked their third silver and fourth Tour medal this year alone, bringing their total collection to five medals. The Lithuanian team advanced to the final undefeated. Their four-game winning streak culminated in a 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) semifinal victory over Ana Vergara & Nazaret Florian. The third-seeded Spanish pair, competing together for the first time on the Tour, rebounded to secure a decisive 2-0 (21-15, 21-12) win in the third-place match against Triantafillidi & Manavi, adorning their joint debut with a bronze medal.
The Budapest Futures tournament saw participation from 25 men`s and 28 women`s duos, representing 24 different federations.
The next event on the calendar is a women`s Futures tournament in Warsaw, Poland, scheduled from September 11 to 14.
Finley Blackwood