05/01/2020 13:00
BeachVolley Vikings are Norway’s ‘Team of the Year’
News from the National Federations
Oslo, Norway, January 5, 2020. Anders Berntsen Mol/Christian Sandlie Sørum, aka the BeachVolley Vikings, received on Saturday night the ‘Team of the Year 2019’ award, thus edging in the process a number of very competitive nominees such as the men’s handball national team, the women’s football squad and relay world champions in cross-country skiing and biathlon – all sports with much tradition in Norway.
The so-called Idrettsgalla – which stands for Sports Gala – provides the stage for the awarding of the most recognised sports prizes in Norway. The biggest TV channel in Norway, NRK, broadcasts the annual event live across the Scandinavian country.
After enjoying their breakthrough in 2018, the BeachVolley Vikings had another amazing year, securing their second straight #EuroBeachVolley title in Moscow and a bronze medal at their maiden World Championship appearance in Hamburg, Germany. Upon receiving the award, Anders and Christian expressed their gratitude to their parents, family members, teammates Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen as well as to the Norwegian Volleyball Federation, the Olympic training centre and to all of the sponsors that have helped the Vikings achieve such unprecedented success.
On top of their EuroBeachVolley success in the Russian capital, in 2019 Mol/Sørum claimed top honours from as many as six 4-Star or 5-Star tournaments on the FIVB World Tour – and more specifically at the events held in Itapema (BRA), Jinjiang (CHN), Ostrava (CZE), Gstaad (SUI), Tokyo (JPN) and Vienna (AUT). They finished third at the end-of-season World Tour Finals in Rome to cement their status as the world’s top Beach Volleyball team.
Their coach, Kåre Mol, was the first recipient of the newly introduced ‘Beach Volleyball Coach of the Year’ award at the CEV European Volleyball Gala held in Sofia in October 2019.
Picture courtesy of NTB/Scanpic
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