An exceptional performance by the home teams brought joy to Swiss fans at the men`s Geneva Futures event last week. Supported by FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, three Swiss pairs claimed all the medals on the Beach Pro Tour podium: Yves Haussener & Julian Friedli won gold, Florian Breer & Luc Fluckiger secured silver, and Adrian Heidrich & Jonathan Jordan took bronze, in that order.
Swiss Volley’s beach volleyball department has significantly benefited from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, receiving USD 366,000 specifically for coach support. This funding enables their male athletes to train under the guidance of experienced coach Philip Gabathuler.
The top-seeded duo of Yves Haussener and 18-year-old Julian Friedli proved their leading status by finishing first. They had an unbeaten run of five matches in Geneva, earning them their second gold medal and fourth overall medal together on the Beach Pro Tour. Their path to victory included a 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) win in the semifinal against the fourth-seeded Norwegian pair, Nils Gunnar Ringoen & Even Stray Aas. They then won the all-Swiss final with a comeback victory of 2-1 (20-22, 21-16, 15-11) over Breer & Fluckiger.
Florian Breer and Luc Fluckiger, the 12th seeds, were unable to clinch the gold in the final but celebrated a hard-fought silver medal, their first on the Beach Pro Tour. They reached the final by upsetting the second seeds, Heidrich & Jordan, with a 2-1 comeback win (18-21, 21-17, 15-12) in their semifinal match.
Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan, after their semifinal loss, bounced back strongly in the third-place match. They secured the bronze medal with a tough 2-0 (29-27, 21-15) win over Ringoen & Aas. This marks the duo’s second medal on the Beach Pro Tour. Just last month, they claimed the gold medal at the Spiez Futures, also held on home soil.
The men’s Geneva Futures tournament featured 28 teams representing 15 different countries. The women’s Futures event in Geneva is scheduled to take place this week, from June 26 to 29.
Men`s Geneva Futures: Results and Standings
Oliver Wrenwick 
Finley Blackwood