Beach U18 World Championships 2026

Qualifiers Lasse Huper & Filo Wust make it double joy for Germany at U18 Worlds

Australia’s Ryan Edgar & Thomas Turner and France’s Adrien Bezu & Quentin Hypolyte complete the podium in the Hague

Published 06:13, 12 Jul 2026

Edgar/Turner (AUS) vs Hüper/Wüst (GER) - Final 1st Place #113656226

Germany’s Lasse Huper & Filo Wust completed a fantastic run from Wednesday’s first qualification round all the way to the top of Sunday’s men’s podium at the 2026 FIVB Beach Volleyball U18 World Championships in the Hague. They won all 10 of their matches in the Netherlands, dropping sets in only two of them, to triumph as U18 world champions. It was the second medal for Filo Wust, after he took silver at last year’s edition in Qatar.

Watch the 2026 FIVB U18 Beach Volleyball World Championships on the Beach Volleyball World YouTube channel

Ryan Edgar & Thomas Turner settled for silver, Australia’s first-ever medal in the history of the competition.

France’s Adrien Bezu & Quentin Hypolyte completed almost a similar feat to that of the Germans, cruising from the first round of qualifiers to the podium. After their winning streak was interrupted by Huper & Wust in the semifinals, the French team settled for bronze.

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The first set of Sunday’s gold medal match was quite competitive until 17-17, but in the money time, Huper & Wust stayed more concentrated in their game and scored four in a row to take the set. With the momentum on their side, they stormed the second set on a 3-0 run and never looked back. Edgar & Turner tried fighting back during the second half of the set, but in the end, it was the Germans who were more focused on the victory. With a well-placed curve shot, Wust brought in match point. A rally later, he converted it to a 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) win with a precision cut shot, which delivered Germany’s fourth world title and overall eighth medal in the history of the youth boys’ world championships.

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“I am stunned! I don’t know what to say. We are just very happy we won,” Lasse Huper told the FIVB right after the end of the final. “It was a tough game! In the end everyone was so tired and it was the people that wanted it more and left their hearts on the court that were going to win.”

“Last year I got second in a pretty close game, which I was very sad that we lost. Obviously, now I am very pleased to finish first and now I think I’ve got everything I want in U18,” Filo Wust added.

In the bronze medal match, Adrien Bezu & Quentin Hypolyte mastered a 2-0 (21-15, 21-17) victory over Poland’s Alan Robak & Igor Gliszczynski, who entered the 2026 FIVB Beach Volleyball U18 World Championship men’s main draw as “lucky losers” from the qualifications and finished in fourth place. This way, the French pair collected their country’s third medal in the history of the tournament.

A dramatic saga unfolded in the first men’s semifinal earlier on Sunday. Robak & Gliszczynski and Edgar & Turner traded the first two sets. At 13-9 in the tie-breaker, the Poles were well in control of the scoreboard, but then they missed a double match point to let the Australians catch up and push it to overtime. More match points were denied on both sides until finally Edgar & Turner closed the match at 2-1 (14-21, 21-17, 19-17). In the second semifinal, Huper & Wust mounted a solid comeback from a set down against Bezu & Hypolyte storming into the final with a 2-1 (16-21, 21-15, 15-7) victory.