Aydin, Turkey, May 19, 2019 – Maciej Rudol and Jakub Szalankiewicz won their first FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour gold when they topped the podium at the Aydin 2-Star on Sunday.
The Polish duo’s previous best was a quarterfinal finish at the Yangzhou 4-Star in China in 2018, and they claimed a World Tour gold for the first time by beating Alex Ranghieri and Marco Caminati 2-1 (21-14, 19-21, 15-13).
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It was also the first time that the Italian pair have won a World Tour gold together. Their previous best came at The Hague 4-Star in 2018 when they reached the quarterfinals.
Sven Winter and Alexander Walkenhorst won bronze with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) victory over the Netherlands’ Jasper Bouter and Ruben Penninga. It is their first World Tour medal since they won bronze at the Kish Island 3-Star.
The tournament took place in Ataturk City Square in the centre of Aydin and it is the second year the city has hosted a 2-Star event. In 2018 Cuba’s Mailen Deliz and Leila Martinez won women’s gold, while Serbia’s Stefan Basta and Lazar Kolaric topped the men’s podium.