Kish Island, February 18, 2017 – After the last three days of cold and wet weather, the sun finally showed up and heated up the final of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Kish Island 3-Star at Kish Marine Recreational and Sports Complex on Saturday.
The sun came up on the last day of the Kish Island 3-Star 2017, where two Russian teams and Poland finished on top of the podium
Kish Island has hosted two FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour events
Nikita Liamin and Viacheslav Krasilnikov’s second World Tour event of the season worked like a charm, as they captured the gold medal at the Kish Island 3-Star 2017 – the launchpad for the new World Tour star structure, featuring a single elimination format for events with 1-Star to 4-Star ratings.
Russia's Liamin/Krasilnikov won their first World Tour gold medal in the new competition format.Liamin/Krasilnikov’s fine performance throughout the tournament and their outstanding performance in the final against Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak of Poland yielded them the top spot on the podium. The newly formed Russian tandem’s climb to the top bodes well for the next events this year.
“The gold medal is very important for us, not only because it is a new season but also because we are a newly-formed team,” Liamin said. “It was really great to play in the final on a sunny day, even though the wind conditions have been quite difficult today. This victory makes us really confident for the rest of the season.”
Kantor/Losiak's silver medal, on the other hand, was a great follow-up to their bronze medal finish at Kish Island last year.
Poland's Kantor/Losiak bagged their fifth career silver in the World Tour.Another Russian pair – Oleg Stoyanovksiy/Artem Yarzutkin – also made it to the podium this year. The silver medallists from last year’s Kish Island Open retained their composure to win against young German pair Lorenz Schumann/Julius Thole in the bronze medal match.
Russia's Stoyanovskiy/Yarzutkin have earned medals in both editions of the World Tour Kish Island event.