2017-11-27 07:10:00 CET
Canadian grabs gold with new partner O’Gorman Down Under
Not a bad way to start a partnership. Thanks @instagrant1234 and @ausvolley for a really fun event. Video courtesy of @chandlr.cole #champagneshowers #Champions #BeachVolleyball #OSaxman #Gold @infinitcanada @oakley @wecobevo @volleydomeyyc
379 Likes, 21 Comments - Ben Saxton (@bensaxton13) on Instagram: "Not a bad way to start a partnership. Thanks @instagrant1234 and @ausvolley for a really fun event...."
Back in March this year, Canadian Ben Saxton watched his sister, Camille, grab back-to-back gold medals in what were only her fifth and sixth tournaments on the FIVB World Tour.
Ben, with seven full seasons behind him on the beach volleyball circuit, was still waiting for that elusive top place on the podium. There had been medals – one silver medal in 2015 in Japan and four bronze, two of which came in Beach Major Series events in Poreč and Klagenfurt.
However, the long wait for gold finally came to an end for the 29-year-old, ironically in Australia – the scene of both of his sister’s triumphs earlier this year. Together with new partner Grant O’Gorman, Saxton – playing in his 88th World Tour event – secured top spot and 200 ranking points with a win in the final of the Sydney two star event.
The pair, playing in their first tournament since Saxton split with Chaim Schalk, crushed Frenchmen Quincy Aye and Youssef Krou 21-8, 21-16 in the final to take gold and the USD 4,000 prize. The bronze medal went the way of Americans Miles Evans and Billy Kolinske.
In the women’s event, there were popular winners as home favorites Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho wowed the crowds in Sydney by clinching gold against China’s Fan Wang and Xinyi Xia. The victory was the Australian teams’ second successive tournament success together after winning gold in the three-star event in Qinzhou, China, in October.
Manly 2 star gold ⭐️ That's a wrap 2017. Super proud of my sissy @mariafe_beach1 #gold #vamos
804 Likes, 12 Comments - Taliqua Clancy (@taliqua) on Instagram: "Manly 2 star gold ⭐️ That's a wrap 2017. Super proud of my sissy @mariafe_beach1 #gold #vamos"
Meanwhile, reunited Austrian pair Katharina Schützenhöfer and Lena Plesiutschnig took bronze home, following up their ninth place finish in China last month.
The event Down Under was the final World Tour event of 2018 as the players begin to prepare for a busy 2018 which of course includes the Fort Lauderdale Major in February! Click here for the full rundown of where the tournaments next year will be!