Past EuroBeachVolley champions looking for another gold in Vienna

Three of teams that had great results on the A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley in the last five years, Sweden’s David Åhman/Jonatan Hellvig, Latvia’s Tina Graudina/Anastasija Samoilova and Norway’s Anders Mol/Christian Sørum are looking to winning another gold medal this week in Vienna.

Present in the event’s opening press conference, held on Wednesday, the three duos highlighted their excitement with this year’s edition of the tournament, which will be played on Danube Island, the main stage for the sport in Austria.

Åhman and Hellvig were the sensations of the 2022 EuroBeachVolley, held in Munich. In their debut in the tournament, the Swedish made history and prevented it from happening at the same time, becoming the first team from their country to claim the title and eliminating Mol and Sørum in the semifinals and ending the Norwegians’ hope of taking gold for an unprecedented fifth-straight time.

In order to successfully defend their title, however, the Swedish will need to overcome a little bit of a lack of match rhythm. The two haven’t played internationally in two months, since Hellvig injured his hand during the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Ostrava Elite16, in June. Åhman and Hellvig returned to the court last weekend, triumphing in a local event in their country, but will be tested to a much larger extent this week in Vienna.

“Unfortunately, I has this problem with my hand, but I feel good now. It’s all healed and I’m excited to be back and to play here in Vienna. We never played in a venue like this and are really looking forward to it.” - Jonatan Hellvig

The Latvians, who also won the EuroBeachVolley in 2019 in Moscow, enter this year’s edition looking for their third title in five years. If they succeed, Tina and Anastasija will become just the second women’s team to win three different editions of the tournament, joining Italians Laura Bruschini and Annamaria Solazzi, who claimed the continental title in 1997, 1999 and 2000.  

“We’re in good shape now. To be in the final again would really be a dream coming true. But we’re just very happy and excited to be here in Vienna. This is one of most loved tournaments for players from around the world and we just hope we can play at our best and enjoy as much as we can.” - Tina Graudina

The reigning Olympic and world champions, Mol and Sørum arrived in Vienna on Tuesday, just 48 hours ahead of their debut, coming from Montréal, Canada, where they won a Beach Pro Tour Elite16 event on Sunday. 

The winners of four straight EuroBeachVolley editions from 2018 to 2021, the Beach Volley Vikings have an incredible track record in Vienna, having won every single tournament they played in the city.

“We’re a little tired and jet lagged, but that won’t be a problem. It’s a long way to the final, but we’re really excited to be back in the Danube Island. It’s the biggest tournament of the year and we’re really grateful that it’s taking place here in Vienna again. It’s where it all started for us and we can’t wait to play.” - Christian Sørum

Tina and Anastasija will be the first to debut among the three, as the Latvians face Ukrainians Valentyna Davidova and Ievgeniia Baieva on Wednesday, at 14:00. The men will only play on Thursday, with Mol and Sørum facing Israel’s Eylon Elazar and Netanel Ohana at 09:00 and Åhman and Hellvig debuting against Austrians Christoph Dressler and Mathias Seiser at 11:00.