Brazilian beach stars are sure to be present at the Olympic Games this summer, but the race for one of only two spots per gender promises to be exciting. Latvians Tina/Anastasija also prove their skills and top the women’s podium in Recife.
In a 2-0 final, Brazilians Evandro/Arthur won gold on home ground against Cuba's Diaz/Alayo. The home duo is in the running for a spot in Paris alongside George/Andre and Pedro Solberg/Guto. All three duos are currently in the top 17 of the world rankings, so Brazil will certainly be represented in the men's competition - but it remains to be seen which team will secure one of the spots. Evandro has already competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and the 2020 Games in Tokyo, but a place in Paris would mark an Olympic debut for Arthur.
The third place went to the English Bello brothers, who beat Americans Evans/Budinger in a 2-1 (26-24, 15-21, 15-13) bronze medal match. Though they also collected points to advance their spot in the world ranking, they still have a long way to go if they plan to head for the city of lights.
In the women’s competition, the gold medal went to Latvian power duo Tina/Anastasija, who beat Canadians Bansley/Bukovec in a 2-0 final match. Currently ranked 7th in the world, the Latvians have a good chance of serving in Paris this summer. The two of them already competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where they finished fourth, so an Olympic medal may not be out of reach for the duo. In the bronze medal match, Lithuanians Paulikiene/Raupelyte beat German beach stars Ittlinger/Borger in an exciting 2-1 match (21-14, 17-21, 15-9). Currently ranked 21st and 24th in the world, respectively, both teams are still missing precious points to be considered for spots in Paris. Out of both teams' players, only Karla Borger has previously competed in Olympic Games, both at the Rio 2016 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
