2019-07-28 16:21:00 CEST
Mol and Sørum dominated the Olympic test event in Tokyo and won their tenth gold medal in 13 tournaments
Mol and Sørum have won 10 of the last 13 tournaments they played at (Photocredit: FIVB)
Anders Mol and Christian Sørum were already considered the favorites to take gold at the A1 Vienna Major this week, but the Beachvolley Vikings have still managed to raise their stakes by winning the World Tour four-star event in Tokyo, the test event for the 2020 Olympics, on Sunday.
The young Norwegians managed to top the podium for the 10th time in their last 13 tournaments with a 21-17, 21-18 victory over German qualifiers Nils Ehlers and Lars Flüggen in the final match at the Shiozake Park, the same site of next year’s Olympics.
Rio 2016 bronze medalists Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands finished third after a 21-12, 21-17 victory over reigning Olympic champion Alison Cerutti of Brazil and his partner Álvaro Filho. The Dutch, who stepped on the podium in the last two events they played at as they secured silver at the Gstaad Major, will have to play in the qualifier at the Danube Island next Tuesday
The women’s tournament at the Japanese capital saw Brazilians Ágatha Bednarczuk and Duda Lisboa top the podium for the second time this season after they downed Gstaad Major winners and World Championships silver medalists Alix Klineman and April Ross of the USA 21-19, 21-18.
Ágatha and Duda downed Klineman and Ross in the Tokyo gold medal match (Photocredit: FIVB)
Ágatha and Duda had a shaky start to the tournament by losing two of their three pool play matches, but bounced back strong to win their next four games in route to claim gold.
“After losing twice in the pool, we had to do something,” Ágatha said. “We had good discussions with our coaches, and we came back and played smarter. You saw the worst of us early, and the best of us in the last four matches. This is a big win for us as we are battling the other good teams in Brazil for a spot in Tokyo 2020.”
The bronze medal went to Canadians Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson, who posted a 21-19, 21-11 win over Germans Julia Sude and Karla Borger and returned to the podium for the first time since last May.
Rusians dominate one-star in Italy
Russian teams collected two of the three medals in play at the one-star event in Pinarella di Cervia, Italy, as Maksim Hudyakov and Igor Velichko secured the top spot in the podium with a 22-20, 15-21, 15-12 victory over Austrians Florian Ertl and Johannes Kratz.
Bronze went to Maxim Sivolap and Artem Yarzutkin, who downed South Africa's Grant Goldschmist and Leo Williams 21-19, 21-14 to finish third in the Italian coastal city.