Teams benefiting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment showcased exceptional performance at last week`s Budapest Beach Pro Tour Futures, clinching five of the six medals, including both gold titles. In the men’s competition, Norway’s Nils Gunnar Ringoen and Even Stray Aas claimed victory, outperforming Tom Sonneville and Quinten Groenewold of the Netherlands in the final. The home crowd in Hungary celebrated a bronze medal for Artur Hajos and Bence Attila Streli. On the women’s side, Czechia’s Veronika Kleiblova and Andrea Lorenzova dominated the showdown against Lithuania’s Ieva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite. Spain’s Ana Vergara and Nazaret Florian secured the women’s bronze medal.
FIVB Empowerment`s Impact
The Norwegian national federation, Norges Volleyballforbund, has been allocated USD 252,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for its national beach volleyball teams, with Jetmund Bernsten overseeing the men`s duos. An additional USD 6,000 was provided for a national team coaches development knowledge transfer program. Similarly, the Netherlands Volleyball Federation (Nevobo) has received USD 217,600 in coach support for its national beach volleyball teams, with men`s pairs trained by Michiel van der Kuip, a 1995 European champion, and his staff. The Hungarian Volleyball Federation’s beach volleyball division was granted USD 126,000 in coach support for their men`s duos, under the guidance of Polish coach Robert Zuchowski, along with another USD 6,000 for a knowledge transfer program for national team coach development.
Men`s Tournament Highlights
Nils Gunnar Ringoen and his 19-year-old partner Even Stray Aas secured their first top-of-the-podium finish on the Beach Pro Tour, marking their third medal as a pair. The eighth-seeded Norwegians delivered an undefeated performance in the Hungarian capital, winning all five of their matches. Their journey to gold included a 2-0 (26-24, 21-15) upset over fourth-seeded Hungarians Artur Hajos & Bence Attila Streli in the semifinals, followed by a narrow 2-1 (21-18, 19-21, 16-14) victory against the fifth-seeded Dutch team of Tom Sonneville & Quinten Groenewold in the final.
Groenewold and his 17-year-old teammate earned their inaugural Beach Pro Tour medal, a silver, finishing with a 4-2 win-loss record. The Dutchmen advanced to the podium after their top-seeded compatriots, Yannick Verberne & Leon Luini, forfeited their semifinal match and subsequently withdrew from the third-place match. This withdrawal meant that the bronze medal went to the local pairing of Hajos & Streli, marking their third Beach Pro Tour podium finish as a duo and their second consecutive, following a silver at the Bujumbura Futures last month.
Women`s Tournament Highlights
The Czech Volleyball Federation has received USD 168,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their women’s beach volleyball teams, supplemented by USD 24,000 for national team coach development knowledge transfer programs. Their women’s pairs benefit from the expertise of Argentinean coach Sebastian Menegozzo. The Lithuanian Volleyball Federation’s beach volleyball department has been granted a total of USD 477,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national duos, along with an additional USD 12,000 for knowledge transfer programs. Their women’s teams train under the guidance of Paulius Matulis and Austrian coach Simon Nausch.
Andrea Lorenzova and 19-year-old Veronika Kleiblova celebrated their first-ever Beach Pro Tour podium appearance with a gold medal. The ninth-seeded Czech pair exhibited remarkable dominance, dropping only a single set across their five matches in Budapest. They swept their semifinal encounter 2-0 (21-18, 21-12) against fifth-seeded Elisavet Triantafillidi & Dimitra Manavi of Greece, and then secured a decisive 2-0 (21-14, 21-17) victory over the second-seeded Lithuanian duo, Ieva Dumbauskaite & Gerda Grudzinskaite, in the final.
For Dumbauskaite & Grudzinskaite, this silver medal was their third silver and fourth Tour medal this year alone, expanding their overall collection to five medals. The Lithuanian team reached the final undefeated, culminating a four-game winning streak with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) semifinal victory against Ana Vergara & Nazaret Florian. The third-seeded Spaniards, who made their debut as a pair on the Tour, recovered to win the bronze medal match 2-0 (21-15, 21-12) against Triantafillidi & Manavi, securing a medal in their joint appearance.
Event Overview and Future Dates
The Budapest Futures attracted a total of 25 men’s and 28 women’s duos, representing 24 different national federations.
The next women’s Futures event is scheduled for Warsaw, Poland, from September 11 to 14.
Budapest Futures: Results Summary
(Detailed results and standings were not provided in the original text.)
