Lausanne, Switzerland, August 2, 2020 - This week in FIVB World Tour history features 28 gold medals in Austria at legendary beach volleyball venues highlighted by FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in 2001 at Klagenfurt and 2017 in Vienna where Argentinean and German pairs joined Brazilian duos atop the podiums.
A total of 24 men's and women's World Tour gold medals were decided in Klagenfurt in the August 2-8 time period from 1997 through 2016 with six titles being decided the past three seasons in Vienna where Brazilians Evandro Goncalves/Andre Loyola and Germans Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst topped the World Championship podiums in 2017.
Only the Swiss Alps village of Gstaad has hosted more men's and women's tournaments (39) than Klagenfurt (32), which started in 1997 as a men's-only event with women's competition joining the programme in 2001 when the Austrian province of Carinthia hosted the World Championships.
Argentina's Mariano Baracetti/Martin Conde and Brazilians Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar captured the 2001 FIVB World Championship trophy at the venue on the eastern shore of Lake Wörthersee where World Tour Grand Slam events where held through 2016 when Latvians Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins and Ludwig/Walkenhorst claimed the July gold medals prior to the Rio Olympic Games.
Martin Conde (left) and Mariano Baracetti of Argentina
While the Austrian events dominated the August 2-8 time period in FIVB beach volleyball history, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings won six events this week featuring their third Olympic gold medal victory at the London 2012 Summer Games by defeating American rivals Jen Kessy and April Ross in the final.
The London gold medal was the last of 40 FIVB podium-topping performances for May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings, who finished first during the August 2-8 period at the 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2011 Klagenfurt events. In seven Klagenfurt visits, the American pair sported a 41-2 record.
Six FIVB under-19 world titles were decided during the August 2-8 period in 2005, 2008 and 2014 where Brazilian, Estonian, German and Slovenian pairs topped the podiums at events in France, the Netherlands and Portugal.
In 2005, Carolina Aragao/Barbara Seixas of Brazil and Tine Urnaut/Nejc Zemljak won the under-19 crowns in Saint Quay Portrieux, France. In 2008 at The Hague, Chantal Laboureur/Levke Spinger of Germany and Kristo Kollo/Oliver Venno won the U19 titles. The 2014 under-19 gold medals were won by the Brazilian pairs of Andressa Cavalcanti/Eduarda "Duda" Lisboa and Arthur Mariano/George Wanderley at Porto, Portugal.
2014 Under-19 World Championships podium with Brazilians, Canadian, German, Ukrainian and Venezuelan players
During the August 2-8 time frame, 16 countries captured gold medals as Brazilian pairs continued to dominate the competition by winning 25 events with United States duos collecting 14 titles. In addition to World Championship and Olympic crowns awarded this week, Shelda and Adriana also won the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York’s Central Park by defeating Pauline Manser and Kerri Pottharst of Australia in the finals.
Topping the list of birthdays this week are celebrations for Rio 2016 Olympic silver medal winners Brazilian Barbara Seixas (33 Monday) and Italian Paolo Nicolai (32 Thursday). In addition to their Rio hardware, Barbara and Nicolai teamed with other players to win five junior world championships and 10 gold medals on the FIVB World Tour.
Other beach volleyball Olympians celebrating birthdays during the August 2-8 time are American Jeff Nygaard (48 Monday), Aussie Louise Bawden (39 Friday), Austrian Stefanie Schwaiger (34, Friday), Canadian Margo Malowney (53 Saturday). China’s Fei (39 Thursday) and Lu Wang (38 Saturday) and Georgia’s Andrezza "Rtvelo" Martin (43 today).
August 2
In 1998, Barbra Fontana and Linda Hanley of the United States won the Espinsho Open. It was the second of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 1998, Jose Loiola and Emanuel Rego of Brazil won the Klagenfurt Open. It was the first of FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 1998, Shelda and Adriana won the Goodwill Games in New York City. It was the seventh of 31 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2003, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the ninth of 40 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2008, Anouk Boileau and Marie-Christine Mondor of Canada won the Geroskipou Challenger. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2008, Shelda and Ana Paula Henkel won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the third and final FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2009, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the eighth of 23 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2014, Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca of Brazil won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the first of 16 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
Brazilian gold medals in Klagenfurt for Talita Antunes (left) and Larissa Franca
August 3
In 1997, Monica Rodrigues and Adriana Samuel of Brazil won the Espinho Open. It was the fourth of five FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 1997, Ze Marco de Melo and Emanuel won the Klagenfurt Open. It was the 13th of 15 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2002, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the fifth of 40 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2003, Marcio Araujo and Benjamin Insfran of Brazil won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the fifth of eight FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2008, Laboureur and Spinger won the FIVB Under 19 World Championships in The Hague. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2008, Dmitri Barsouk and Igor Kolodinsky of Russia won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the first of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2008, Kollo and Venno won the FIVB Under 19 World Championships in The Hague. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2008, Vasiliy Buralev and Egor Moliboga of Russia won the Vladivostok Challenger. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2014 Arthur and George won the FIVB Under 19 World Championships in Porto. It was the first of two FIVB wins for the team.
In 2014, Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the first of 12 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2014, Andressa and "Duda" won the FIVB Under 19 World Championships in Porto. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
August 4
In 1991, Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos of the United States won the Cattolica Open. It was the seventh of 10 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2001, Shelda and Adriana won the FIVB World Championships in Klagenfurt. It was the 22nd of 31 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2002, Loiola and Ricardo Santos won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the fifth and final FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 2007, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the 29th of FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2018, Barbora Hermannova and Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic won the Vienna Major. It was the third of four FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2019, Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway won the Vienna Major. It was the 10th of 10 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2019, Inna and Iryna Makhno of the Ukraine won the Ljubljana Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 2019, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan of Canada won the Vienna Major. It was the sixth of six FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2019, Michal Kadziola and Marcin Ociepski of Poland won the Malbork Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2019, Tadej Bozenk and Vid Jakopin of Slovenia won the Ljubljana Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
August 5
In 1990, Tim Hovland and Kent Steffes of the United States won the Lignano Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 2001, Baracetti and Conde won the FIVB World Championships in Klagenfurt. It was the third win of four FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2006, Jia Tian and Jie Wang of China won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the first of three FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2007, Emanuel and Ricardo won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the 27th of 33 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2017, Ludwig and Walkenhorst won the FIVB World Championships in Vienna. It was the 10th of 11 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2018, Mol and Sorum won the Vienna Major. It was the second of 10 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2018, Esmee Bobner and Zoe Verge-Depre of Switzerland won the Ljubljana Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 2018, Taras Myskiv and Valeriy Samoday of Russia won the Ljubljana Open. It was the first of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
Inna (left) and Iryna Makhno of the Ukraine with the Ljubljana Dragon
August 6
In 1989, Karch Kiraly and Steve Timmons of the United States won the Enoshima Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 1995, Paulao Moreira and Paulo Emilio Silva of Brazil won the Lignano Open. It was the third of five FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2000, Loiola and Emanuel won the Klagenfurt Open. It was the 14th of 15 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2000, Shelda and Adriana won the FIVB Japan Open. It was the 19th of 31 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2005, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the 19th of 40 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2006, Dalhausser and Rogers won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the first of 23 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2011, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the 38th of 40 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2017, Evandro and Loyola won the FIVB World Championships in Vienna. It was the first and two FIVB World Tour wins team.
August 7
In 1994, Fontana and Lori Forsythe won the Osaka Open. It was the first and only FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 1994, Roberto Lopes and Paulao Moreira won the Enoshima Open. It was the first of two FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2004, Sanne Keizer and Merel Mooren of the Netherlands won the Lausanne Satellite. It was the first ad only FIVB win for the team.
In 2005, Carolina Aragao and Barbara won the FIVB Under 19 World Championships in Saint Quay Portrieux. It was the first of two FIVB wins for the team.
In 2005, Christoph Dieckmann and Andreas Scheuerpflug of Germany won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the second and last FIVB World Tour win for the team.
In 2005, Eugenio Amore and Riccardo Fenili of Italy won the Vasto Satellite. It was the third and final FIVB win for the team.
In 2005, Margherita Chiavaro and Manuela Malerba of Italy won the Vasto Satellite. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2005, Urnaut and Zemljak won the FIVB Under 19 World Championships in Saint Quay Portrieux. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2010, Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca of Brazil won the Stare Jablonki Grand Slam. It was the 35th of 45 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2011, Pedro Cunha and Ricardo Santos won the Klagenfurt Grand Slam. It was the first of four FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
Pedro Cunha (left) and Ricardo Santos of Brazil with their 2011 Klagenfurt prizes
August 8
In 1999, Loiola and Emanuel won the Espinho Open. It was the 10th of 15 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 1999, Shelda and Adriana won the Osaka Open. It was the 13th of 31 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2004, Cunha and Fred Souza won the Lausanne Satellite. It was the first and only FIVB win for the team.
In 2009, Juliana and Larissa won the Stare Jablonki Open. It was the 26th of 45 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2010, Dalhausser and Rogers won the Stare Jablonki Grand Slam. It was the 15th of 23 FIVB World Tour wins for the team.
In 2012, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings won the London 2012 Olympic Games. It was the 40th and final FIVB win for the team.