Seven of the nine volleyball and beach volleyball medals at Sucre 2024 were earned by FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported teams
Chile, Peru and Bolivia lined up on the women’s volleyball podium
Chile also claimed the men’s beach volleyball gold, with silver for Bolivia and bronze for Ecuador
Ecuador celebrated the women’s beach volleyball silver, while Bolivia and Peru completed the podium
As many as seven of the nine spots on the beach volleyball and volleyball podiums at the first Youth Bolivarian Games Sucre 2024 were occupied by teams benefitting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment assistance. With coach support for their federations from the programme, Chile won two gold medals, Bolivia earned two silvers and a bronze, and Ecuador claimed a gold and a bronze from the two disciplines combined. The remaining two medals went to Peru, whose federation is also about to start receiving assistance from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme.
So far the Federacion de Voleibol de Chile has been allocated a total of CHF 671,000 worth of FIVB Volleyball Empowerment assistance (CHF 522,000 for coach support of their national teams in both disciplines and CHF 149,000 for sports equipment), the Federacion Boliviana de Voleibol has received CHF 320,000 (CHF 261,000 + CHF 59,000), and the Federacion Ecuatoriana de Voleibol has been granted CHF 189,500 (CHF 180,000 + CHF 9,500).
The first Youth Bolivarian Games were held from 4 to 14 April in Bolivia’s constitutional capital, with the participation of U20 athletes from seven Latin American countries and featuring 27 sports. The competitions included a women’s volleyball tournament and beach volleyball tournaments for both genders.
Chile topped the women’s volleyball podium after a 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-15) sweep of Saturday’s final against Peru (pictured in the main photo; credits: Team Chile / Mauricio Palma / Coch / fevochi.cl). Coached by Eduardo Guillaume, the team from Chile went through the tournament without dropping a single set in four matches played, to claim the first international gold medal for a Chilean youth women's team in history. Bolivia won the bronze after a 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 18-25, 25-16) victory over Venezuela in the third-place game.
Sucre 2024 women’s volleyball - results and standings
Chile also triumphed in the men’s beach volleyball event. Trained by Brazilian coach Adriano Bonina Cerqueira, Jorge Brain & Vicente Belmar achieved a 2-1 (20-22, 21-16, 15-11) victory, coming back from a set down in the final against Bolivia’s Rafael Daza & Pablo Choque, who had to settle for silver. The Bolivian pairs have been trained by another Brazilian coach, Marcio Araujo, with Carlos Rojas as an assistant. A tie-breaker decided the bronze medal as well. In the third-place match, Ecuador’s Javier Avalos & Josmany Bermudez managed a hard-fought 2-1 (12-21, 21-19, 15-13) win over Sebastian Pereira & Eduardo Rodriguez of Venezuela.
Chile’s Jorge Brain & Vicente Belmar celebrate at the Youth Bolivarian Games (Photo credits: Mauricio Palma / Coch / fevochi.cl)
In the women’s final, Ecuador’s Ilanna Dvorquez & Stephany Cherrez, coached by Ramon Ferreira Gomes of Brazil, produced a 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) sweep of their encounter with Bolivia’s Maria Peredo & Avril Vasquez, who earned another silver for the host nation. The bronze went to Peru’s Mishelle Gomez & Estephanie Castillo after an emphatic 2-0 (21-8, 21-8) victory in the third-place game against Chile’s Martina Salvatierra & Luna Alvarez.
Sucre 2024 beach volleyball - results and standings