Brazil and China stamp their mark on Gstaad

From July 9 to 14, the magnificent Swiss village of Gstaad hosted the sixth of the 10 double gender Grand Slam events on the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. It was the 14th straight season that Gstaad hosted a men’s Grand Slam tournament and their 13th holding a women’s Grand Slam event.

A number of teams that stood on the podium at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Poland repeated the trick a week later. Women’s world champions Chen Xue and Zhang Xi from China won a second gold in two weeks in the women’s competition in Gstaad, while Brazil’s Ricardo Santos and Alvaro Filho improved on their World Championships silver medals by winning their first gold together in the men’s competition.

Men’s competition

Brazil’s Ricardo Santos and Alvaro Filho won their first gold medal as a team when they defeated fellow countrymen Pedro Salgado and Bruno Oscar Schmidt 2-0 (21-16, 21-18). For Alvaro the gold was his first in an FIVB competition adding to the two silvers he won at U21 World Championships.

USA’s Jacob Gibb and Casey Patterson ensured that they completed their set of World Tour medals with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) win against world champions Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen in the bronze medal match.

Women’s competition

FIVB world champions Chen Xue and Zhang Xi from China won their second gold medal in a week when they defeated Brazilians Liliane Maestrini and Barbara Seixas 2-0 (21-16, 21-14), in a repeat of the World Championships semifinals.

Brazil’s Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima needed only two sets to beat Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst 2-0 (21-14, 21-13) for the bronze medal – their fourth World Tour medal of the year.