Lausanne, Switzerland, May 8, 2016 – The Russian city of Sochi hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 2014 but this week the sport is more summerlike as it hosts the Sochi Open on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
Sunday is Finals day at the Sochi Open and the home crowd will have something to cheer for as Russia’s Konstantin Semenov and Vyacheslav Krasilnokov face up against Italians Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo in the men’s final.
The Greater Sochi region runs for 145 km along the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains, but Sochi is not just a winter venue for sports. In addition to this week’s beach volleyball tournament, Sochi also hosts the Formula 1 Grand Prix and will be a venue city for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Tennis greats Maria Sharapova and Yevgeny Kafelnikov also started out in Sochi.
Sochi has also staged a part of the Dakkar rally series and hosted the 2014 World Chess Championship. It is also home to HC Sochi, who play in Russia’s premier ice hockey league.
In contrast to the sand and sun down by the Black Sea, on May 4 Sochi hosted a snow volleyball competition sanctioned by the CEV. The tournament took place at the ski resort of Rosa Khutor, 2,320 meters above sea level.
Russian beach volleyball star Evgenia Ukolova took time out to point out the highlights of the city of Sochi.
The finals and bronze-medal matches can be seen live on the FIVB's YouTube Channel, as follows: