06/08/2015 07:38
Future stars of Beach Volleyball ready for unforgettable tournament in Riga
2015 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships
Riga, Latvia, August 6, 2015. From Thursday the 6th until Sunday the 9th of August, the beautiful city of Riga will not only be the capital of Latvia, it will also be the capital of European Youth Beach Volleyball. Both the men’s and women’s teams in the U18 category will compete for the medals in the CEV Beach Volleyball European Championships. Wednesday night all the teams witnessed the drawing of lots and the technical meeting.
Click here to see the pools and the main draw fixtures.
The 2015 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships in Riga is being covered extensively also on Twitter and Facebook with the official hashtag being #EuroBeachVolleyU18
Beach Volleyball is without a doubt booming in Latvia. The 2015 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships is already the third major European Beach Volleyball competition which is taking place in Latvia in two years. Many Latvians watched how Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins conquered the gold medal at the European Championships last week in Klagenfurt. Earlier this year, Martins Plavins/Haralds Regza claimed the gold medal at the Baku 2015 European Games.
Latvian talents
The next days it’s up to the Latvian youngsters to show their best beach volleyball. The brother of Aleksandrs Samoilovs, Mihails, who is playing with Aleksandrs Nasonovs, will be inspired after seeing the amazing performance of his sibling in Austria. In total three Latvian men’s teams will enter the main draw (32 teams in total).
In the women’s tournament Tina Graudina and Linda Gramberga, the bronze medallists from last year’s FIVB U17 Beach Volleyball World Championships, will each play with a new partner. Just like in the men’s competition, Latvia has three teams in play at the Beach Box Elkor stadium.
Men’s competition
Besides the Latvian teams there are many other extremely talented players to watch in Riga. In the men’s tournament five of the six athletes who won a medal at the 2014 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships in Kristiansand, will be present in Riga again: Sven Winter from Germany (who won gold with Julius Thole), Adam Lenc and Maciej Lewicki from Poland (silver) and the Spanish duo Óscar Jiménez Gutiérrez/Alejandro Huerta Pastor (bronze).
The European men’s teams did a great job at the 2014 U17 World Championships, since they claimed all the medals. Florian Breer and Yves Haussener from Switzerland were crowned champions in Mexico, and in Riga they will try to expand their list of honours with a European title. The Swiss team beat Spain (Óscar Jiménez Gutiérrez/Alejandro Huerta Pastor) in the final. Last but not least France is a force to be reckoned with. Frenchman Timothée Platre, winner of the bronze medal in Mexico, will play in Riga with Rémi Bassereau.
Women’s competition
In the women’s competition it’s harder to predict the favourites as none of the medal winners of the 2014 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships will compete in Riga.
The action in Riga starts today at 9am (Latvian time). The matches on court 1 and court 2 will be broadcasted live on LAOLA1.tv
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