Lausanne, Switzerland, May 18, 2016 – Back in Turkey for the second straight year, the double-gender FIVB Antalya Open was held in Antalya from May 10 to 15. It marked the fifth men’s competition in Turkey and the second women’s FIVB tournament.
Situated on a steep cliff over the Mediterranean, Antalya is a picturesque city surrounded by mountains and featuring a majestic coastline of beaches. Once again, it proved to be a fine venue.
ANTALYA MEN
In the men’s competition, winning the gold medal with a spotless 7-0 record was Latvia’s fourth-seeded Aleksandrs Samoilovs/ Janis Smedins, who won by forfeit over Germany’s ninth-seeded Markus Bockermann/ Lars Fluggen because Fluggen’s left knee wasn’t stable enough to play another match. It was the first FIVB gold medal in 2016 for the Latvian pair. It was the seventh career FIVB World Tour gold medal for Samoilovs and the eighth for Smedins.
In the men’s bronze-medal match, Poland’s sixth-seeded Grzegorz Fijalek/ Mariusz Prudel stopped the charge of Greece’s surprising 25th-seeded, Georgis Kotsilianos/ Nikos Zoupanis in straight sets (21-14, 21-13).
ANTALYA WOMEN
In the women’s competition, Germany’s top-seeded Laura Ludwig/ Kira Walkenhorst compiled a perfect 7-0 record as they topped Finland’s surprising 15th-seeded Rikka Lehtonen/ Taru Lahti, winning the gold medal match in straight sets (23-21, 21-16).
In their 30th FIVB World Tour event as a team, Germany’s Ludwig/ Walkenhorst now have four gold medals, three silver medals and three bronze medals. Individually, Ludwig has five career FIVB World Tour gold medals in 126 events and Walkenhorst has five career FIVB World Tour gold medals in 38 tournaments. Finland’s Lehtonen/Lahti earned the first FIVB World Tour podium placement for their country.
The women’s bronze medal match saw Germany’s seventh-seeded Katrin Holtwick/ Ilka Semmler defeat Ana Gallay/ Georgina Klug 21-18, 21-16.