The race for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games officially began in February 2023 in Doha, Qatar, with the Volleyball World Elite16. The 2024 season began last week, back in Doha, and the final event of the Olympic qualification cycle will be the Ostrava Elite16, which ends on June 9. We’ll be providing these updates for the Beach Volleyball Olympic rankings throughout the next two years.
It wasn’t a shocking victory in and of itself for Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot at the season-opening Doha Elite16 this past weekend. What was shocking was the manner in which they won their first Elite16 gold medal: Two wins over Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, and a 21-11, 21-10 demolition of Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig in the final.
That gold added 1,200 points to their Olympic total, upping their average to 837 per event. Despite having just eight Olympic finishes to their name, it all but assures Boermans and de Groot a spot in the Paris Olympics, making the Dutch race, unexpectedly, between No. 6 Alex Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen and No. 16 Steven Van de Velde and Matthew Immers.
All but assuring themselves into the Paris Olympic Games as well were Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova. Last week, when we simulated the Olympic probabilities for each team remaining in the race, Graudina and Samoilova came back with a surprising 100-percent chance. There were questions — until Doha. Graudina and Samoilova came out of the qualifier, won pool, and finished fourth, adding 900 points to the ledger and virtually cementing their spot in their second Olympic Games.
The next Olympic qualifying event is March 21-24, a Challenge in Recife, Brazil.
Men’s Beach Volleyball Olympic Rankings
(updated March 11 after the Doha Elite16)
- Anders Mol, Christian Sorum, NORWAY, 10460 (10)
- David Ahman, Jonatan Hellvig, SWEDEN, 10020 (9)
- Sam Cottafava, Paolo Nicolai, ITALY, 8800 (12)
- Andre Loyola, George Wanderley, BRAZIL, 8440 (12)
- Nils Ehlers, Clemens Wickler, GERMANY, 9100 (12)
- Alex Brouwer, Robert Meeuwsen, NETHERLANDS, 8160 (12)
- Evandro Goncalves, Arthur Mariano, BRAZIL, 8000 (12)
- Ondrej Perusic, David Schweiner, Czech Republic, 7780 (8)
- Andy Benesh, Miles Partain, USA, 7620 (9)
- Adrian Gavira, Pablo Herrera, SPAIN, 7500 (12)
- Thomas Hodges, Zachery Schubert, AUSTRALIA, 7380 (12)
- Theo Brunner, Trevor Crabb, USA, 7220 (12)
- Cherif Samba, Ahmed Tijan, QATAR, 7200 (10)
- Michal…
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