Swedish Olympic gold medalists Åhman and Hellvig are set to compete in a Challenge event, marking their first appearance at this level in over two years.
Current Olympic champions David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig from Sweden are participating in a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge event this week in Warmia Mazury, Poland. This marks their return to a Challenge tournament after more than two years.
The Warmia Mazury Challenge, the fourth event of this level in the 2025 season, is taking place at Anders Hotel Beach from Wednesday through Sunday. The competition will feature many of the world`s leading beach volleyball teams.
Åhman and Hellvig, both 23, last competed in a Challenge event in March 2023 in La Paz, Mexico, where they finished ninth. Currently ranked third in the FIVB World Rankings, the Swedish pair recently participated in a Futures event in Malmö, Sweden, finishing fourth after withdrawing from their final two matches.
Despite their absence from the Challenge circuit, the Olympic champions have achieved significant success at the elite level of the Beach Pro Tour. Since 2023, they have secured 15 medals in 19 Elite events, including nine golds, five silvers, and one bronze.
Competition in Poland will be tough. A key challenge for the Swedish pair comes from the host nation`s duo, Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak, who aim to win on home sand.
Key Men`s Contenders at Warmia Mazury Challenge
Also competing are Germany`s Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers, the opponents of Åhman and Hellvig in the Paris Olympics gold medal match last year. After a slow start to the season with 19th-place finishes at the Saquarema and Ostrava Elite events, they improved recently, taking ninth place at the Alanya Challenge two weeks prior.
The men`s tournament in Poland also marks the final international appearance for Latvian veteran Aleksandrs Samoilovs. The 40-year-old three-time Olympian returned to the sand after more than a year away, finishing second at a Futures event in his native Jurmala two weeks ago. Samoilovs and his partner Gustavs Auzins received a wild card entry into the main draw for this farewell event.
Top Seeds in Women`s Tournament: Americans Hildreth and Van Gunst
In the women`s competition, Americans Kimberly Hildreth and Teegan Van Gunst enter as the top seeds. They reached the semifinals at the Yucatán Challenge earlier this season, finishing fourth, and are aiming for their first medal of 2025.
Brazilians Vitória Rodrigues and Hegeile ‘Hege’ Almeida are also strong contenders. Partnered since 2024, they have come close to a Beach Pro Tour medal multiple times, with one fourth-place and four fifth-place finishes in the past 18 months.
Canadian Olympians Heather Bansley and Sophie Bukovec are participating as well. They recently returned to the Beach Pro Tour after a long break, finishing 17th at the Alanya Challenge two weeks prior.
Tournament Schedule Overview
The tournament begins on Wednesday with qualifier rounds, where 30 men`s and 26 women`s teams will compete for the final eight main draw spots in each gender. Pool play runs from Thursday to Friday, including the Round of 24 and the women’s Round of 16 matches.
Saturday features more elimination matches: the men`s Round of 16, quarterfinals for both genders, and the women`s semifinals. Sunday`s schedule concludes the event with the men`s semifinals, followed by the women`s and men`s medal matches (bronze and gold).
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick