2018-07-29 19:19:00 CET
As warm ups go – this wasn’t a bad one across four tournaments this weekend
A LA FINAL WORLD TOUR TOKYO 3 ⭐️. Vamos Chile por la de oro 🥇 después de dos partidos bien jugados contra EEUU y Qatar, pasamos a la final contra Serbia 🇷🇸. Muchas gracias a todos por el apoyo!!! . . . @clinicameds @gatoradechile @teamchile_coch @reebokchile . . . #beach #beachvolley #beachvolleyball #voleyplaya #worldtour #world #tour #circuito #mundial #chile #FINAL #FIVB #tokyo #japon #japan #chile #vamoschile #PrimosGrimalt #BeMoreHuman #game #juego #tournament #win #giramundial
2,055 Likes, 79 Comments - Primos Grimalt (@primos_grimalt) on Instagram: "A LA FINAL WORLD TOUR TOKYO 3 ⭐️. Vamos Chile por la de oro 🥇 después de dos partidos bien jugados..."
A host of Vienna-bound stars tasted success in four tournaments across a hectic weekend of beach action.
In Tokyo, the host city of the 2020 Olympics, teams from South America and Europe came up on top as Chilean cousins Marco and Esteban Grimalt won the men’s tournament and Germans Teresa Mersmann and Cinja Tillmann prevailed among the women.
The Grimalts, who will play in the A1 Vienna Major presented by Swatch qualifier on Tuesday, won their first World Tour gold medal with a straight-set (21-12, 21-17) victory over Serbians Stefan Basta and lazar Kolaric. Americans Casey Patterson and Stafford Slick stepped onto the podium for the first time together, as they won the bronze medal after a 2-1 (18-21, 21-13, 15-10) triumph over Germans Yannick Harms and Phillipp Bergmann.
In women’s final, Mersmann and Tillmann, the winners of the one-star event in Baden in June, earned their second international trophy with a two-set (22-20, 21-17) victory over Finland’s Taru Lathi and Anniina Parkkinen. The bronze medal went to the home team of Miki Ishii and Megumi Murakami – remember them from Gstaad? – who posted a 21-18, 21-17 win over Norway’s Ingrid Lunde and Oda Ulveseth.
GOLD beim 3☆-Turnier in TOKIO!🥇👉🙅🏽♀️🙅🏼♀️🏅 #orthomol_sport #uerige #cl_meindeo #uscmuenster #delfina #volleyballdirekt #gorillabar #mscaps #energy42 #thankyoucoachkhoch2 #coachp #sprachlos #💚🏐 #dieallesgeben
296 Likes, 20 Comments - Mersmann/Tillmann (@mersmanntillmann) on Instagram: "GOLD beim 3☆-Turnier in TOKIO!🥇👉🙅🏽♀️🙅🏼♀️🏅 #orthomol_sport #uerige #cl_meindeo #uscmuenster..."
In the two-star tournament in Agadir, Morocco, there was a golden return to the beach for Viktoria Orsi Toth. The 27-year-old hadn’t been seen since the 2016 Klagenfurt Major, having been banned for two-years for taking a banned substance. Reunited with Marta Menegatti, the team – who are entered into the Vienna Major main draw – took no time in rekindling their partnership. The Italians saw off the challenge of the Czech Republic’s Martina Bonnerova and Sarka Nakladalova in three sets 19-21, 21-19, 15-12.
The men’s gold went the way of Russians Maksim Hudyakov and Ruslan Bykanov, who needed all three sets (21-15, 16-21, 17-15) to take down Austrians Alexander Huber and Christoph Dressler, who are entered to compete in Vienna's qualifier.
Teams from Italy and the Czech Republic were also celebrating at the one-star event in Samsun, Turkey. Donovan Dzavoronok and Jindrich Weiss defeated fellow Czechs Marcel Myslivecek and Martin Pihera to take the men’s gold, while Carolina Ferraris and Francesca Michieletto of Italy defeated Austria’a Eva Freiberger and Valerie Teufl to win the women’s top prize. The next stop for the Austrians is their home tournament in Vienna, where they begin in the qualification phase.
Finally, the next generation of European stars were busy competing at the Under-22 European Championships in Jurmala, Latvia. There was joy for the home country, too, as they had a gold and a silver medal to celebrate. Mihails Samoilovs, brother of Aleksandrs, and Kristaps Smits beat Spain’s Heurta brothers, Alejandro and Javier, to win the men’s gold.
It wasn’t to be a golden double, however, as Russia’s Svetlana Kholomina and Nadezda Makroguzkova denied Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka in the women’s final. It was the second year running the Russians took home the top prize. Both teams’ next port of call is the Vienna Major.
The action on the Danube Island next week, but the World Tour also has a double-gender one-star tournament taking place in Ljubljana, Slovenia – and we’ll keep you posted on all the action as it unfolds at both events.