Beach volleyball action picks up the pace in Poland

• Facebook
• Twitter

Can last year’s Stavanger silver medalists Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak win on home sand this week? Photocredit: Samo Vidic.

Top-class competition continues to come thick and fast for the beach volleyball elite just days after the dramatic finish to the incredible smart Major Hamburg with the Olsztyn Grand Slam in Poland.

Polish beach volleyball fans are gearing up for a second successive year of Grand Slam action hoping for medals from their home favorites.

Last year the home supporters were jumping for joy as they backed Polish women’s team Monika Brzostek and Kinga Kolosinska to a bronze medal.

Meanwhile, the Polish men will be aiming to improve on last year’s performance. Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak reached the quarterfinals 12 months ago while Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel were defeated in the second knockout round.

A total of 13 Polish pairs will be aiming to delight the home fans and stop the Brazilian pairs winning like they did so impressively last year. Larissa Franca and Talita Antunes and Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt both took the gold medals last year and are both back in a bid to retain their crowns.

Qualification began for the women on Tuesday and continues for the men on Wednesday to decide who goes forward to the main draw. The Pool Play will take two days to complete before the knockout rounds get under way ahead of the exciting finales at the weekend.

Can Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst follow-up their magnificent win in Hamburg with yet another gold this weekend? Will Austria’s Alex Horst and Clemens Doppler continue their Olympic preparation with a performance to remember? We’ll keep you updated throughout the week so stay tuned!

Oh, and if you’re like us and missing Hamburg already, relive all the action on our fabulous YouTube channel.