Lausanne, Switzerland, June 28, 2020 - Two years ago at this time, Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak made history in becoming the first-ever team from their country to win a medal on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour on home sand after 17 previous men’s tournaments staged in Poland in a 12-year period.
On July 1, 2018 in Warsaw, Kantor and Losiak captured the top spot on the podium by out-lasting Vitor Felipe and Evandro Goncalves of Brazil 2-1 (27-29, 21-13, 15-12) in a 55-minute gold medal match as the Polish pair claimed their second World Tour title in their 10th FIVB season together.
A day earlier, Kantor and Losiak defeated Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medal winners Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands 2-1 (21-17, 17-21, 15-12) in a 46-minute semifinal match to become the first men’s team from their country to earn a medal on Polish sand.
In the hour before Kantor and Losiak’s effort in delighting the home crowd, Canadians Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson won their first of three FIVB World Tour gold medals together by defeating Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude of Germany 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) in a 37-minute women’s finale.
The titles claimed by the Canadian and Polish pairs were two of the 32 FIVB World Tour awarded during the June 28-July 4 time frame as the women’s duos of Jen Kessy/April Ross of the United States and Agatha Bednarczuk/Barbara Seixas of Brazil captured the top spots at FIVB World Championships in 2009 and 2015, respectively.
In addition to seven FIVB Challenger/Satellite gold medals titles decided during the June 28-July 4 period, three women Olympians celebrate birthdays this week, including Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic and Pablo Herrera of Spain.
A six-time FIVB World Tour winner and two-time Olympian, Slukova turns 32 today (June 28). Herrera, who celebrates his 38th birthday Monday (June 29), is a four-time Olympian, 2004 Athens Summer Games silver medal winner and a five-time winner on the World Tour. Herrera and Adrian Gavira are in contention for their third Olympic appearance together for the Tokyo Games.
Other Olympians celebrating birthdays this week are Sophie van Gestel of the Netherlands (29 on Monday) and Petia Yanchulova of Bulgaria (42 on Friday). Both players are two-time Olympians with van Gestel winning a 2013 World Tour gold medal with Madelein Meppelink at Corrientes, Argentina. Yanchulova and her older sister Lina captured titles at three FIVB events at Challenger/Satelitte stops in Greece, France and Liechtenstein in the 2000s.
Petia (left) and Lina (right) Yanchulova of Bulgaria with American Misty May-Treanor in 2006 at the Ferrari facility in Maranello, near Modena, Italy
Here is a listing of gold medal winners at FIVB events during the June 28-July 4 period.
June 28
•In 2003, Ana Paula Connelly Henkel and Sandra Pires of Brazil won the Berlin Grand Slam. It was the second of five FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2008, May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the 34th of 40 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2014, Ross and Walsh Jennings won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the fifth of 11 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings (left) and April Ross with their Viking swords
June 29
•In 1997, Martin and Paul Laciga of Switzerland won the Czech Republic Challenger in Karlovy Vary. It was the first of six FIVB titles for the team.
•In 2003, Harley Marques and Franco Neto of Brazil won the Berlin Grand Slam. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
•In 2008, Isabelle Forrer and Sarah Schmocker of Switzerland won the Spanish Satellite in Laredo. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
•In 2008, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the fourth of 23 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2014, Dalhausser and Sean Rosenthal won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the fourth of six FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
Sean Rosenthal (left) and Phil Dalhausser of the United States with their Viking swords
June 30
•In 1996, Roberto Lopes and Franco won the Marseille Open. It was the 12th of 13 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2007, Kessy and Ross won the Stavanger Grand Slam after emerging from the qualifier as the 29th seed to become the lowest seeded women's team to win in the 15-year history of the FIVB. It was the first of 10 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
July 1
•In 2001 Julien Prosser and Lee Zahner of Australia won the Berlin Open. It was the 1st and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
•In 2001, Rong Chi and Zi Xiong of China won the FIVB Greece Challenger in Xylokastro. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
•In 2006, Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca of Brazil won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the ninth of 45 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2007, Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz Magalhaes of Brazil won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the ninth of 11 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2007, Marleen Van Iersel and Marloes Wesselink of the Netherlands won the San Sebastiàn Satellite in Spain. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
•In 2007, Michal Biza and Martin Lebl of the Czech Republic won the Brno Challenger. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
•In 2017, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan of Canada won the Porec Major. It was the first of six FIVB World Tour wins for team.
•In 2018, Bansley and Wilkerson won the Warsaw Open. It was the first of three FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2018, Kantor and Losiak won the Warsaw Open. It was the second of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
Melissa Humana-Paredes (left) and Sarah Pavan (right) of Canada with coach Scott Davenport
July 2
•In 1995, Jan Kvalheim and Bjorn Maaseide of Norway won the Berlin Open. It was the fourth of seven FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2000, Jose Loiola and Emanuel Rego of Brazil won the Chicago Grand Slam. It was the 13th of 15 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2005, Vasiliki Arvaniti and Vasso Karadassiou of Greece won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
•In 2006, Emanuel and Ricardo Santos won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the 21st of 33 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2011, Kessy and Ross won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the ninth of 10 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2016, Laboureur and Sude won the Porec Major. It was the first of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2017, Gustavo "Guto" Carvalhaes and Pedro Solberg of Brazil won the Porec Major. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
July 3
•In 2004, Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs of the United States won the Stavanger Open. It was the sixth and final FIVB World Tour win for the team.
•In 2005, Emanuel and Ricardo won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the 14th of 33 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2005, Kay Matysik and Marcus Popp of Germany won the Italy Challenger of Cagliari. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
•In 2010, Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the 32nd of 45 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2011, Marcio Araujo and Ricardo won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
•In 2016, Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil won the Porec Major. It was the ninth of 12 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
July 4
•In 1999, Adriana Bento Buczmiejuk and Monica Paludo of Brazil won the FIVB Italy Challenger in Portici. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
•In 1999, Ze Marco de Melo and Ricardo won the Berlin Open. It was the fourth of 11 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2000, May-Treanor and McPeak won the Chicago Grand Slam. It was the first of three FIVB World wins for the team.
•In 2004, Emanuel and Ricardo won the Stavanger Open. It was the ninth of 33 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2009, Kessy and Ross won the FIVB World Championships in Stavanger. It was the fourth of 10 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
•In 2010, David Klemperer and Eric Koreng of Germany won the Stavanger Grand Slam. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win over the team.
•In 2015, Agatha and Barbara won the FIVB World Championships 2015 in The Hague. It was the fourth of four FIVB World Tour wins for the team.