Brazil’s Ana Patricia and Duda won gold in beach volleyball, beating the Canadian team of Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana Paredes 2-1 under the Eiffel Tower on Friday, 9 August at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The Brazilian duo of Ana Patricia and Duda qualified for the final a couple of days before by defeating  Australians Mariafe Artacho and Taliqua Clancy by 2-1 in a in the semi-finals with an electrifying outcome. 

In earlier action, Switzerland’s Tanja Hueberli and Nina Brunner won 2-0 against Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy to secure the bronze medal for Switzerland.

The Brazilians started off better in that match, with quick finishes, but the Australians, runners up in Tokyo, were determined to get to the final  and defended in the second set. The Brazilians pushed on and closed the set by 21-15. The third set defined everything until the Carioca victory.

Men’s draw for the Gold

In the men’s draw, Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan will compete against Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig, while Germany’s Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler face Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum.

So there will be new Olympic champions in both men’s and women’s beach volleyball this year. Norway’s reigning men’s champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum were knocked out in the semi-finals by Germany’s Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler 13-21, 21-17, 13-15.

Ehlers and Wickler faced Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig in the final after the Swedes registered a 21-13, 21-17 straight-sets win over Tokyo bronze medallists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan representing Qatar.

A review on the rules

Beach volleyball is played by two teams of two players on a sand court 16m long and 8m wide – slightly smaller than an indoor court – divided by a net. The height of the net in beach volleyball is the same as in traditional volleyball: 2.24m for women and 2.43m for men.

The first team to win two sets wins the match. The first two sets are played to 21 points each and the third, if necessary, to 15 points. As there are only two players per team, the athletes have much more ground to cover, which implies a need for lightning reflexes. Beach volleyball matches are held outdoors, where wind, sun and rain can affect playing conditions; therefore, players must be very versatile and adapt to the elements to be successful.

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