02/08/2015 16:22
‘Lion King’ Samoilovs and Smedins make history for Latvia with first men’s gold for Europe’s Beach Volleyball ‘Mecca’
2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Final
Klagenfurt, Austria, August 2, 2015. It has been an incredible summer for Latvia’s Beach Volleyball family which started already in May with the Jurmala Masters, continued with Martins Plavins/Haralds Regza claiming gold at the Baku 2015 European Games and the climax was eventually reached on Sunday at the world’s ‘Mecca’ of this sport, Klagenfurt, where Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins celebrated their first European Championship gold medal as well as their country’s first ever after edging Italy’s Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula 21-18, 21-18. Back in 2009 Inguna Minusa and Inese Jursone had won European gold in the women’s competition at the finals held in Sochi, Russia. This gold medal is the perfect boost for the sport to continue to boom in Latvia with the country’s capital Riga set to host next week the 2015 edition of the CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships.
Reinder Nummerdor/Christiaan Varenhorst of The Netherlands settled for the bronze medal after claiming the derby with their countrymen Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (21-18, 21-16). This way Nummerdor equalled the record of Germany’s Jonas Reckermann to become only the second player in the 23-year long history of the European Championship to boast a collection of six medals – including gold in 2008, 2009 and 2010 – from the annual premier continental competition. Nummerdor received the award for the ‘smart player’ of the tournament, standing out for his skills and demeanour, and thereby setting an example for all youngsters and the stars in the making of this sport.
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The 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship is being covered extensively also on Twitter and Facebook with the official hashtags being #EuroBeachVolley and #BeachEM15
The organisers of the 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final got the climax they were longing for as the gold medal match was by far the match with the most exciting actions since the start of the tournament last Tuesday. Samoilovs/Smedins looked very determined to claim their first European title after having had to be content with silver in 2013 and 2014. This was also their third final match in Klagenfurt and this time around it was their time to finish on top of the charts. Samoilovs and Smedins displayed an incredible variety of shots and delivered a terrific performance in every fundamental of the game, something that the still young and less experienced – especially Carambula – Italians could not respond to. Latvia’s Beach Volleyball icons claimed a four-point lead in the first set (13:9, 14:10) and though this was erased at 15 all, they imposed their rule down the final stretch (21-18). Smedins and Samoilovs briefly trailed 7:9 in the second set but scored three in a row to level the score and even though some drops of rain started falling from the grey sky of Carinthia, they did not lose composure and brought the match to an end with a second 21-18 after another display of their class.
This is Latvia’s fourth European Championship medal with Janis Smedins having now a complete collection since Sunday’s gold goes along with the silver medals from 2013 and 2014 and the bronze he won back in 2010 in Berlin alongside former partner Martins Plavins.
“As we entered the match, we really said to ourselves that it was time to break the negative series and win a final here in Klagenfurt,” Samoilovs said. “This is a legendary place and everyone in the world talks about this centre court and all what happened here throughout the years. So now we have our small place in the history of this place. It has been a difficult season with Janis being injured but now we are definitely back on track and our focus is entirely on getting as many points as possible in order to secure our qualification for next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.”
38-year old Reinder Nummerdor and 212 cm tall Christiaan Varenhorst teamed up halfway through the 2014 season and last year they immediately showed they would be a force to be reckoned with by claiming gold at the CEV Baku Masters, the FIVB Grand Slam in São Paulo and the FIVB Mangaung Open in South Africa. Only a few weeks ago they got one step away from making history at a memorable home World Championship in The Netherlands but they missed out on as many as six match balls in a thrilling gold medal match with eventual winners Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil. After losing to Ranghieri/Carambula in the semis earlier on Sunday morning, Nummerdor and Varenhorst got to play their countrymen Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen in the ‘small final’. Nummerdor was vying for his sixth European medal – after winning silver in 2007, gold in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and bronze in 2011 with former partner Richard Schuil – and despite the very demanding schedule of the tournament in Klagenfurt, he showed that class and experience can cope well with the challenge brought by younger and physically gifted opponents such as 2013 world champions Brouwer and Meeuwsen.
Nummerdor/Varenhorst claimed the first set of the bronze medal match after a close run (21-18), and after that Nummerdor stretched his personal show on to the second set combining spectacular defence actions with fine touches at the net. Varenhorst also did a good job and in the end the Dutchmen could celebrate Nummerdor’s sixth European medal – the first since winning another bronze in 2011 – and Varenhorst’s first ever.
“It has been a very good season for us with silver at the World Championship and now bronze here,” Nummerdor commented. “We know and this has been confirmed at many international competitions over the last few years that European teams are very strong and competitive, so it is difficult to make the podium at a European Championship. We are therefore very happy with winning bronze here,” he added after a match which moved the head-to-heads with Brouwer/Meeuwsen to two wins apiece. Varenhorst, on the other hand, praised the audience for their passion and enthusiasm even on such rainy day: “I would like to thank the fans for coming out so early this morning, even under heavy rain; it tells you a lot about the mentality of the people here and the tournament itself. I hope to come back and my wish is to be able to play here for many more years.”
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