Europeans dominate Olympic rankings

Beach volleyball teams from Europe secured 17 of the 30 spots for the Tokyo Olympics put in play over the course of the last two and a half years by finishing in the top 15 of the men’s and women’s Olympic rankings.

The list is expected to be officially confirmed by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) on June 13, the closing date of the rankings, which were formed by the top 12 international results of each team in the period, but with no more relevant tournaments set to happen until there, it’s already possible to measure the continent’s dominance in the process.

European teams filled nine of the top 15 spots in the men’s Olympic rankings, including the top one, which belongs to Norwegians Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, the team that had the highest total among both genders at 10,960. They will enter the Olympics as the top-seeded duo.

Three other teams from the continent are also guaranteed in Tokyo as they qualified via other pathways – Russians Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Viacheslav Krasilnikov won the 2019 World Championship while Latvians Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs and Italians Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai triumphed at the International Olympic Qualifier in that same year.

Three European countries also managed to secure the maximum of two slots per gender among the men as Russia will also see Konstantin Semenov/Ilya Leshukov compete in Tokyo and Italy will have Adrian Carambula/Enrico Rossi joining Lupo and Nicolai while Poland will be represented by Grzegorz Fijalek/Michal Bryl and Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak.

 

 

 

 

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Among the 24 European male players guaranteed in Tokyo, five are Olympic medalists – Lupo and Nicolai won silver in Rio 2016, the Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen took bronze in that same edition and Plavins snatched bronze in London 2012. The European contingent also features eight past Olympians and 11 players that will be making their first appearance in the Games.

Among the women, Europe was able to secure more than half of the Olympic rankings spots as well, taking up eight of them. The top European team in the rankings was the one of Swiss Nina Betschart and Tanja Hüberli, who secured 7,040 points to rank sixth overall.

 

 

 

 

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As with the men, European teams were also able to qualify via other methods as 2019 European champions Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka of Latvia and Spanish Liliana Fernandez and Elsa Baquerizo booked their tickets to Tokyo back in 2019 in the International Olympic Qualifier.

Betschart and Hüberli will be joined by fellow Swiss and reigning European champions Joana Heidrich and Anouk Vergé-Dépré in Tokyo. Germany has also secured the maximum of two spots with Karla Borger/Julia Sude and Laura Ludwig/Margareta Kozuch.

A Rio 2016 champion, Ludwig is the only Olympic medalist among the European players. The list has ten other players who will be returning to the Olympics in Tokyo and nine who will be appearing for the first time.

Europe is guaranteed another berth in each gender in the Olympics at the Continental Cup. The tournament will be played in the Hague, the Netherlands, from June 23-26, and the winners will also qualify for the Olympics. The four other Continental Cup winners (South America, North and Central America, Asia and Africa) will complete the 24-team fields for the Olympics.

The Olympics will take place from July 23-August 8 and we expect all of our European stars back in the continent shortly after it for a fantastic A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley Vienna 2021 presented by Swatch from August 11-15.

Well done, guys!   

Men

Olympic Ranking

1 – Anders Mol/Christian Sørum (Norway) – 10,960

2 – Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan (Qatar) – 7,720

3 – Alison Cerutti/Alvaro Filho (Brazil) – 7,720

4 – Grzegorz Fijalek/Michal Bryl (Poland) – 7,480

5 – Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (Netherlands) – 7,400

6 – Evandro Goncalves/Bruno Schmidt (Brazil) – 7,320

7 – Julius Thole/Clemens Wickler (Germany) – 7,200

8 – Konstantin Semenov/Illya Leshukov (Russia) – 7,140

9 – Ondrej Perusic/David Schweiner (Czech Republic) – 7,040

10 – Jake Gibb/Taylor Crabb (USA) – 7,040

11 – Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (USA) – 7,040

12 – Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira (Spain) – 6,560

13 – Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (Poland) – 6,420

14 – Adrian Carambula/Enrico Rossi (Italy) – 6,380

15 – Marco Grimalt/Esteban Grimalt (Chile) – 6,140

2019 World Championships

Oleg Stoyanovskiy/Viacheslav Krasilnikov (Russia) – 9,180

2019 Olympic Qualifiers

Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai (Italy) – 6,880

Martins Plavins/Edgars Tocs (Latvia) - 6,000

Host Country

Katsuhiro Shiratori/Yusuke Ishijima (Japan)

Women

Olympic Ranking

1 - April Ross/Alix Klineman (USA) – 9,400

2 - Agatha Bednarczuk/Duda Lisboa (Brazil) – 9,040

3 - Ana Patricia Ramos/Rebecca Cavalcanti (Brazil) – 8,800

4 - Taliqua Clancy/Mariafe Artacho (Australia) – 7,640

5 - Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil (USA) – 7,440

6 - Nina Betschart/Tanja Hüberli (Switzerland)  - 7,040

7 – Nadezda Makroguzova/Svetlana Kholomina (Russia) – 6,920

8 – Heather Bansley/Brandie Wilkerson (Canada) – 6,860

9 – Joana Heidrich/Anouk Vergé-Dépré (Switzerland) – 6,720

10 – Sanne Keizer/Madelein Meppelink (Netherlands) – 6,680

11 – Fan Wang/Xiniy Xia (China) – 6,220

12 – Barbora Hermannová/Marketa Sluková (Czech Republic) – 6,180

13 – Karla Borger/Julia Sude (Germany) – 6,120

14 – Laura Ludwig/Margareta Kozuch (Germany) – 6,000

15 – Marta Menegatti/Viktoria Orsi Toth (Italy) – 5,700

2019 World Championships

Sarah Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes (Canada) – 9,400

2019 Olympic Qualifier

Liliana Fernandez/Elsa Baquerizo (Spain) – 5,960

Tina Graudina/Anastasija Kravcenoka (Latvia) – 5,800

Host Country

Miki Ishii/Megumi Murakami (Japan)