Lausanne, Switzerland, June 12, 2016 — Completing Olympic qualifying and playing the first of four Swatch FIVB Major Series events in Germany, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) will now see the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour continue this week in Poland. The final countdown to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will start with the double-gender $800,000 FIVB Olsztyn Grand Slam.
Last week in Hamburg saw a team from the United States win the men’s gold medal and a team from the host country Germany win the women’s gold medal at the $800,000 smart FIVB Major, the first of four rounds in the 2016 Swatch Major Series portion of the FIVB World Tour. It was the 16th men’s event and 13th women’s event on the 2016 FIVB World Tour. All of the remaining events on the 2016 FIVB World Tour calendar are double gender events.
After the Swatch FIVB Hamburg Major Series, the FIVB World Tour continues with one FIVB Grand Slam in Poland and three more Swatch FIVB Major Series events in Croatia, Switzerland and Austria prior to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, Aug. 6-18. After the Olympics, concluding events on the 2016 FIVB World Tour will be a FIVB Grand Slam in the United States, the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals and concludes with a FIVB Open tournament in Mexico.
HAMBURG MEN
In the men’s competition this past week at the FIVB Moscow Grand Slam, the gold medal winners with a perfect 7-0 record and a 14-1 set mark was USA’s third-seeded Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena who wore out Netherlands’ fourth-seeded Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen in straight sets, 29-27, 21-12 in 45 minutes.
For USA’s Dalhausser/Lucena, it was their fifth career FIVB World Tour gold medal as a team in 15 events along with four silver medals and one bronze medal. Individually, it was the 34th career FIVB World Tour gold medal and 63rd final four finish for Dalhausser in 95 FIVB Tournaments along with 13 silver medals, 12 bronze medals and four fourth place finishes. For Lucena, it was his fifth career FIVB World Tour gold medal and 20th final four finish with eight silver medals, four bronze medals and three fourth place finishes.
For Netherlands’ Brouwer/Meeuwsen, the 2013 FIVB World Champions, it was their fifth silver medal in 55 career FIVB World Tour events to go with two gold medals, three bronze medals and three fourth-place finishes. In their overall careers, the Dutch duo have 13 final four finishes, all as a team. Brouwer has now played in 70 career FIVB tournaments and Meeuwsen in 61.
In the men’s bronze medal match in Hamburg, winning was Russia’s 12th-seeded Konstantin Semenov/Viacheslav Krasilnikov who came from behind to stun Brazil’s top-seeded 2015 FIVB World Champions Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt, in three sets, 15-21, 22-20 and 15-10 in 37 minutes.
As a team, it was the eighth final four placement in 30 FIVB events as a team for Russia’s Semenov/Krasilnikov who now have one gold medal, three silver medals, one bronze medal and three fourth-place finishes. Four Brazil’s Alison/Bruno Schmidt, confirmed as a entry in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games by winning last year’s FIVB World Championships, it was their 16th final four finish in 26 career FIVB World Tour events as a team with eight gold medals, three silver medals, one bronze medals and four fourth-place finishes.
In the Hamburg men’s semifinals, USA’s Dalhausser/Lucena toppled Brazil’s Alison/Bruno Schmidt in straight sets, 21-16, 21-15 in 35 minutes and Netherlands’ Brouwer/Meeuwsen advanced to the gold medal match by knocking off Russia’s Semenov/Krasilnikov in straight sets, 21-18, 21-16 in 34 minutes.
USA’s Phil Dalhausser was selected as the men’s most outstanding player in Hamburg.
HAMBURG WOMEN
In the women’s competition that saw the top four-seeded teams in the final four for just the 25th time in FIVB women’s history at the smart FIVB Hamburg Major, Germany’s top-seeded Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst thrilled their home country fans with an unblemished 7-0 record as they held off Brazil’s fourth-seeded Agatha Bendarczuk/Barbara Seixas in three sets to win the gold medal, 21-19, 19-21 and 15-12 in 55 minutes.
For Germany’s Ludwig/Walkenhorst tandem, it was their fifth gold medal as a team and 13th final four finish in 32 tournaments as a team. They also have three silver medals, three bronze medals and two fourth place finishes. Individually, for Ludwig, it was her 29th career FIVB World Tour final four with five gold medals, 11 silver medals, eight bronze medals and five fourth place finishes. For Walkenhorst, all of her final four finishes have been with Ludwig as her teammate.
For Brazil’s 2015 FIVB World Champions Agatha/Barbara, this was their 14th final four finish in 35 tournaments and their fifth silver medal to go with four gold medals and five bronze medals.
In the women’s bronze medal match in Hamburg it was a rematch of the recent FIVB Moscow Grand Slam gold medal match with opposite results. This time, Brazil’s second-seeded Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca defeated USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross in straight sets, 21-15, 21-17 in 32 minutes.
For Brazil’s Talita/Larissa duo, already confirmed to compete in the Rio Olympics as a host-country selection, this was their bronze medal to go with 12 gold medals and one silver medal in just 21 FIVB World Tour events as a duo. Individually, for Talita this was her 15th career FIVB World Tour bronze medal to with 30 gold medals and 16 silver in 152 FIVB World Tour events. For Larissa, who won the bronze medal (with Juliana Felisberta) at the London 2012 Olympic Games, this was her 18th career FIVB World Tour bronze medal to go along with a FIVB-record 58 gold medals, 21 silver medals and five four place finishes in 136 career FIVB World Tour events.
USA’s Walsh Jennings/A. Ross now have two fourth place finishes along with 10 gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze medals in 27 FIVB World Tour events as a team. Individually, three-time Olympic champion Walsh Jennings now has five career FIVB World Tour fourth place finishes to go along with 54 gold medals, 17 silver and nine bronze medals in 113 events and A. Ross now has eighth career FIVB World Tour fourth place finishes along with 20 gold medals, 14 silver and 11 bronze medals in 113 career FIVB tournaments.
To reach the women’s gold medal match in Hamburg, in their respective semifinals, Germany’s Ludwig/Walkenhorst held off USA’s Walsh Jennings/A. Ross in three sets, 21-16, 19-21 and 16-14 in 59 minutes and in a battle of compatriots, Brazil’s Agatha/Barbara came from behind to defeat Brazil’s Talita/Larissa in another exciting three-setter, 19-21, 21-18 and 15-11 in 53 minutes.
Germany’s Kira Walkenhorst was selected as the women’s most outstanding player of the tournament.
MEN’S WINNERS SHARE
Last week’s smart FIVB Hamburg Major men’s champions Dalhausser/Lucena of the United States picked up the Swatch FIVB Major Series gold medal purse of $57,000. Netherlands’ runner-up Brouwer/Meeuwsen earned $43,000 in prize money while Russia’s bronze medalists Semenov/Krasilnikov earned $32,000 and Brazil’s Alison/Bruno Schmidt received $24,000 in prize money for their fourth place finish.
WOMEN’S WINNERS ROLL
The smart FIVB Hamburg Major women’s champions Ludwig/Walkenhorst of Germany earned the winner’s $57,000 purse. Brazil’s Agatha/Barbara collected the runner-up $43,000 purse to split from their silver medal placement and Brazil’s Talita/Larissa earned $32,000 for their bronze medal finish. USA’s fourth-place finishers Walsh Jennings/A. Ross earned $24,000 in prize money.
MEN’S POINTS/EARNINGS
After 16 men’s events on the 2016 FIVB World Tour, Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak remain at the top of the FIVB World Tour point standings with 4,040 points, while Italy’s Adrian Carambula/Alex Ranghieri are second with 3,980 points. Third is USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena with 3,870, fourth is Mexico’s Lombardo Ontiveros/Juan Virgen with 3,710 and fifth is Germany’s Markus Bockermann/Lars Fluggen with 3,450. Sixth with 3,290 points is France’s Youssef Krou/Eduard Rowlandson, seventh is USA’s John Hyden/Tri Bourne with 3,270 points, eighth is Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen with 2,990, ninth with 2,860 points is Latvia’s Martins Plavins/Haralds Regza and 10th is Canada’s Josh Binstock/Sam Schachter with 2,850 points.
In the 2016 FIVB World Tour men’s season earnings after 16 events, USA’s Dalhausser/Lucena have moved all the way up to the top of the list with $128,000. Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak tandem is second with $117,750. Jumping all the way up to third is Netherlands’ Brouwer/Meeuwsen with $109,375, fourth with $85,125 is Brazil’s Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt duo and fifth is Netherlands’ Reinder Nummerdor/Christiaan Varenhorst with $85,125. Sixth is Italy’s Carambula/ Ranghieri tandem with $77,500, seventh with $75,000 is Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves/Pedro Solberg, eighth is Russia’s Semenov/Krasilnikov with $71,700, ninth is Mexico’s Ontiveros/Virgen with $69,125, and 10th is Germany’s Markus Bockermann/Lars Fluggen with $67,750.
WOMEN’S POINTS/EARNINGS
For the women after 13 events on the 2016 FIVB World Tour, USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross continues the top rung on the ladder with 4,010 points. Second with 3,420 points is Germany’s Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler duo, Italy’s Marta Menegatti/Viktoria Orsi Toth tandem is third on the point leader board with 3,330 points, fourth is Germany’s Karla Borger/Brita Buthe with 3,220 points and fifth is Germany’s Ludwig/Walkenhorst with 3,180. Sixth with 3,050 points is Argentina’s Ana Gallay/Georgina Klug, Switzerland’s Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Vergé-Dépré tandem is seventh with 3,030 points, eighth with 2,820 points is Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr, ninth with 2,800 points is Germany’s Chantal Labourer/Julia Sude and 10th with 2,790 points is Vanuatu’s Linline Matauatu/Miller Pata.
In the 2016 FIVB World Tour women’s season earnings after 13 events, USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross duo continues in the top spot with $174,000 in earnings in just seven events, while moving up to second is Germany’s Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst, also in just seven events, with $112,375, third with $99,000 in just five events is Brazil’s Talita/Larissa, fourth with $78,875 is Germany’s Karla Borger/Britta Buthe and fifth with $75,000 in five events is Brazil’s Agatha/Barbara. Sixth with $66,000 is Poland’s Monika Brzostek/Kinga Kolosinska, seventh in the money standings with $64,000 is Brazil’s Eduarda Lisboa/Elize Maia, eighth is Italy’s Marta Menegatti/Viktoria Orsi Toth with $62,875, ninth with $62,700 is Switzerland’s Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Vergé-Dépré and 10th is Canada’s Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan with $62,000.
MEN’S FINAL FOURS
After 16 men’s tournaments on the 2016 FIVB World Tour schedule, 16 countries have at least one final four placement. Leader with 11 final four placements each is the United States (four gold medals, two silver medals, three bronze medals, two fourth place finishes), Second with nine final four placements is Brazil (three gold medals, three silver, one bronze, two fourth place finishes), Tied for third with seven each are Italy (three gold medals, two silver medals, two fourth place finishes) and Poland (one gold medal, four bronze medals, two fourth places).
Fifth with six final four placements is Germany (one gold medal, two silver medals, one bronze medal, two fourth places). Sixth with five final fours is the Netherlands (one gold medal, two silver medals, two bronze). Seventh with four final fours is Russia (two silver medals, one bronze medal, one fourth place finish). Tied for eighth with three final fours each are Latvia (one gold medal, one bronze medal, one fourth place) and Mexico (one silver medal, two bronze medals). Tied for 10th with two final fours each are Chile (two fourth places), and Spain (one gold medal, one bronze medal). Tied for 12th with one final four finish each are Austria (one silver medal), Canada (one silver medal), France (one fourth place), Greece (one fourth place) and Qatar (one gold medal).
WOMEN’S FINAL FOURS
In 13 women’s FIVB international events to date on the 2016 calendar, 15 countries have earned at least one final four finish. Leaders in final four placements with 11 is Brazil (three gold medals, four silver medals, three bronze medals, one fourth place finish), Second with nine final fours is Germany (three gold medals, one silver medal, four bronze medals, one fourth place), third with eight is the United States (four gold medals, one silver medal, two bronze medals, one fourth place finish), fourth with five is Switzerland (two gold medals, one bronze medal, two fourth place finishes) and tied for fifth with three final four placements each are Argentina (three fourth place finishes), Italy (one silver medal, one bronze, one fourth place) and the Netherlands (one silver, two fourth place finishes).
Eighth with two final four finishes is Spain (one silver medal, one bronze medal). Tied for ninth with one final four finish each are Austria (one silver medal), Australia (one fourth place), Canada (one bronze medal), China (one silver medal), Czech Republic (one gold medal), Finland (one silver medal), Poland (one silver medal) and Vanuatu (one fourth place).
MEN’S WINNING PERCENTAGE/MATCH WINS
Based on percentage, statistically, in men’s action after 16 events on the 2016 FIVB World Tour calendar with a minimum of 28 matches played, the leader at 88.5% continues to be USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (46-6) while second at 79.5% is Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (31-8), third at 75.7% is Brazil’s Gustavo Carvalhaes/Saymon Barbosa (28-9), fourth at 71.4% is Italy’s Alex Ranghieri/Adrian Carambula (45-18) and fifth at 71.2% is Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (47-19). Sixth at 70.3% is Spain’s Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera (26-1), seventh at 70.0% is Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins (28-12), eighth at 69.0% is Russia’s Konstantin Semenov/Viacheslav Krasilnikov (29-13), ninth at 68.9% Italy’s Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (31-14) 10th at 67.9% is Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves/Pedro Solberg (19-9).
With 47 match wins this season through 16 events on the 2016 FIVB World Tour, leading this category is Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (47-19), second with 46 match wins is USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (46-6), third with 45 match wins is Italy’s Adrian Carambula/Alex Ranghieri (45-18) while fourth with 42 match wins each is Mexico’s Lombardo Ontiveros/Juan Virgin (42-20) and fifth with 38 match wins is Germany’s Bockermann/Fluggen (38-20). Tied for sixth with 35 match wins each are USA’s Tri Bourne/John Hyden (35-23) and Canada’s Grant O’Gorman/Sam Pedlow (35-27), eighth with 33 wins is Latvia’s Martins Plavins/Haralds Regza (33-25), ninth with 31 wins is Italy’s Paulo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (31-14) and tied for 10th with 29 wins each are Canada’s Josh Binstock/Sam Schachter (29-26) and Russia’s Konstantin Semenov/Viacheslav Krasilnikov (29-13).
WOMEN’S WINNING PERCENTAGE/MATCH WINS
Based on percentage, statistically, in women’s action after 13 events on the 2016 FIVB World Tour calendar with a minimum of 23 matches played, the leader at 90.0% continues to be USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross (45-5), second at 89.5% is Germany’s Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (34-4), third at 86.2% is Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca (25-4), fourth at 76.9% is Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk/Barbara Seixas (20-6), and tied for fifth at 74.5% are Germany’s Karla Borger/Britta Buthe (35-12.) and Brazil’s Eduarda Lisboa/Elise Maia (35-12). Seventh at 71.0% is Brazil’s Juliana Felisberta/Taiana Lima (22-9), eighth at 69.6% is Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr (32-14), ninth at 69.4% is Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (25-11) and 10th at 67.9% is Germany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude (36-17).
For the women in match wins following 13 events on the 2016 FIVB calendar, leader with 45 match wins is USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross (45-5), second with 38 match wins is Germany’s Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler (38-27), third with 36 match wins is Germany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude tandem (36-17) and tied for fourth with 35 match wins each are Brazil’s Eduarda Lisboa/Elize Maia (35-12), Germany’s Karla Borger/Britta Buthe (35-12). Tied for sixth with 34 match wins each are Germany’s Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (34-4), Italy’s Menegatti/Orsi Toth (34-20) and Argentina’s Ana Gallay/Georgina Klug (34-24).Ninth with 32 match wins is Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr (32-14) and tied for 10th with 30 match wins each this season are Finland’s Taru Lahti/Rikka Lehtonen (30-25) and Switzerland’s Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Vergé-Dépré (30-22).
ON THE HORIZON
Qualification on the FIVB Olympic Rankings for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour is now complete. In all, Brazil is hosting five international events in 2016. In addition to Maceió, Rio, Vitoria and Fortaleza, the Brazil events will be capped with the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Aug. 6-18).
The FIVB World Tour finished its Olympic qualifying last week with the double-gender $800,000 smart FIVB Hamburg Major in Germany. After Hamburg, remaining 2016 FIVB World Tour events prior to the Rio Olympics will be this week’s FIVB Olsztyn Grand Slam in Poland and three more Swatch FIVB Major Series events. First will be the Swatch FIVB Porec Major Series in Croatia (June 28-July 3), followed by the Swatch FIVB Gstaad Major Series in Switzerland (July 5-9) and the Swatch FIVB Klagenfurt Major Series in Austria (July 26-31).
Following the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, there are three more events scheduled on the 2016 FIVB World Tour calendar. First event scheduled is FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam (Aug. 23-28), the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals (Sept. 13-18, location TBA) and the FIVB Puerto Vallarta Open in Mexico (Oct. 11-16). All three are double-gender events.
GROWING HISTORY
The FIVB Olsztyn Grand Slam in Poland will be the 346th men’s tournament since the FIVB began play in 1987 and the 307th FIVB women’s tournament since their competition started in 1992.
FIVB 2016
Based in Lausanne, Switzerland as the international governing body for the Olympic sports of Beach Volleyball and Volleyball, the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball calendar featured a purse of US$8.8 million with a season that extended from last October to this October, competing at 23 venues in 13 countries. The schedule includes five FIVB Grand Slams, three Swatch FIVB Major Series events, 14 FIVB Opens and the special Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals in the United States. The showcase event will be the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil (Aug. 6-18).
The 2015 portion of the 2016 FIVB World Tour calendar started in October in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and included two more open events prior to the remainder of the schedule resuming at the FIVB Kish Island Open in Iran in February.
ROAD TO RIO
The Olympic qualification process began in 2015 with all FIVB World Tour events (except the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals) in 2015 through June 13, 2016 counting towards the Olympic Ranking in order to determine 15 spots for each gender that will take part in each 24-team field in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Copacabana Beach in Brazil in August. Brazil also was awarded two additional spots in the field of 24, one in each gender as the host nation and the other as winning both the men and women’s gold medals in the 2015 FIVB World Championships in the Netherlands. With qualifying through the FIVB World Tour completed, the official announcement of teams and drawing of pool assignment will be held at the Swatch Gstaad Major Series.
FIVB WORLD TOUR PURSES
The four FIVB Grand Slam and four Swatch FIVB Major Series competitions in 2016, all double-gender, each have $800,000 in total purses. The total of $500,000 will be the purse for the Swatch FIVB World Tour Season Final which will feature the top eight teams in each gender and two wild card teams.
The 14 FIVB Open tournaments on 2016 calendar, 11 double-gender, and three men’s only, have $150,000 total purses for the double gender events and $75,000 for the single-gender competitions.
The gold medal teams in each gender at FIVB Grand Slam and Swatch FIVB Major Series events split $57,000, the silver $43,000, the bronze $32,000 and fourth place $24,000. The gold medal teams in each gender at FIVB Open tournaments each split $11,000, the silver $8,000, the bronze $6,000 and fourth place $4,500.
FIVB EVENT FORMAT
Implemented in 2013, the format of all the FIVB Beach Volleyball international tournaments – whether FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slam or FIVB Beach Volleyball Open – are the same, featuring pool play followed by single elimination knockout rounds. Country Quota playoffs returned as needed in 2015 to determine the final teams for the qualification tournament.