Lausanne, Switzerland, September 11, 2019 - The Finals in Rome last weekend brought the 2018-2019 edition of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour to a close with resounding victories for Russians Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy in the men's tournament and Germans Laura Ludwig/Margareta Kozuch in the women's. Here is a look back at all this season's gold, silver and bronze medallists.
The season began with events in Hungary and France in August 2018.
September to November included three events in China (Zhongwei, Qinzhou, Yangzhou), three in Iran (Bandar Torkaman, Babolsar, Bandar Anzali), two in North America (Las Vegas, USA and Chetumal, Mexico) and one in Slovenia (Ljubljana).
Russians Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy claimed gold at the first event of 2019, a 4-star tournament in the Netherlands (The Hague). The first four months of 2019 also included stops in Cambodia (Phnom Penh, Kampong Speu, Siem Reap, Battambang), India (Visakhapatnam), Australia (Sydney), Qatar (Doha), Thailand (Satun), Malaysia (Langkawi), Sweden (Göteborg), China (Xiamen) and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur).
Highlights of the month of May included 4-star events in Brazil (Itapema), China (Jinjiang) and the Czech Republic (Ostrava), with Norwegians Anders Mol and Christian Sorum earning gold at all three events.
The events in June built up to the 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Hamburg, Germany from June 28 to July 6 with victories for Russians Krasilnikov/Stoyanovskiy and Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan.
July featured as many as nine events including 5-star stops in Gstaad, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria, with Norwegians Mol and Sorum earning the men's title in both, and Alix Klineman/April Ross of the USA winning in the Gstaad women's event and world champions Humana-Paredes/Pavan winning in the Vienna women's event.
August was another bumper month featuring 13 events in countries in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia.
The World Tour Finals from September 4-8 completed the 2018-2019 season with a repeat of the World Championship final in the men's tournament and Laura Ludwig returning with Margareta Kozuch to claim her third World Tour Finals title after victories with former partner Kira Walkenhorst in Toronto, Canada in 2015 and Hamburg, Germany in 2017.
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