Michal Bryl and Bartosz Losiak made history by becoming the first-ever men’s pair to win a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour gold. The Polish duo had a brilliant start of the 2022 season, topping the podium at the Tlaxcala Challenge and making the final four at the Rosarito Elite16 in Mexico, and now they hope to continue their successful journey at the second Challenge tournament in Itapema, Brazil this week.

· Watch all the matches at the Itapema Challenge live or on demand on Volleyball TV.

27-year-old Olympian Bryl and 29-year-old two-time Olympian Losiak teamed up after Tokyo 2020, following successful spells with their previous partners Grzegorz Fijalek and Piotr Kantor, respectively. It was not a completely new pairing. Together, they had played at two international tournaments before, reaching the quarterfinals at the 2014 FIVB U23 World Championship in Myslowice and the semifinals at the 2016 Klagenfurt Major on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.

Bryl and Losiak lost only a single set in Tlaxcala on the way to their team’s first international gold, in the semifinal against Brazilians Renato Andrew and Vitor Felipe.

The following week, the Poles shifted a level up and put on another excellent performance at the Rosarito Elite16, where they reached the semifinals without dropping a set, shutting out teams like the world’s number one Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar, Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves and Alvaro Filho or Italy’s Adrian Carambula and Enrico Rossi. In the semis, however, they met Cherif and Ahmed again and the Qataris took their revenge in straight sets. Bryl & Losiak then lost to Olympic champions Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway in the bronze medal game, after winning the first set by a landslide.

“The fourth place is not a result that athletes are very fond of. Of course, we would be more pleased with a medal, but it was difficult. We did not have enough patience and fatigue began to show itself. We have to draw our conclusions and correct the mistakes,” Michal Bryl told pzps.pl upon returning from Mexico.

“It all looked good in both tournaments, and of course, we are very pleased with these results,” Bryl and Losiak’s coach Grzegorz Klimek added. “The way we played also gave us reasons to be satisfied. We began the season really well. The start in Mexico showed that this duo has a great potential.”

After spending a few days back in Poland, the team hit the road again and flew to Brazil for a training camp in Joao Pessoa. It was an opportunity to practice together with the highest ranked Brazilian duo, George Wanderley and Andre Stein, and the team that snatched a set from the Poles in Tlaxcala, Renato and Vitor Felipe.

“It was a very busy time. We trained with the Brazilian pairs George and Andre, and Vitor and Renato. The first one are top in their country, the second are just behind the leaders and have a great potential,” said coach Klimek. “It was nice and hot and we had very good working conditions.”

Now Bryl and Losiak are already in Itapema, ready for more success on the Beach Pro Tour.

“Itapema is well known in our sport. Some big tournaments were held here. We'll play at a stadium near the ocean,” said Bryl. “And we will compete with the world's best again.”

As a new pairing, Bryl and Losiak are quickly moving up the FIVB World Ranking and have already risen to number 32. They are seeded fourth in the Itapema Challenge main draw. The tournament is set to start on Thursday, April 14, and last through Sunday.

After Itapema, they will stay busy with the Beach Pro Tour stops in Doha and Ostrava that they have signed up for, ahead of June’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships 2022 in Rome.

“This season has just started,” said Losiak. “We made a strong impact at the beginning, but we still have a lot to play ahead of the World Championship, which will be the most important event of the 2022 season.”

Itapema Entry List - Qualification - Men
Itapema Entry List - Qualification - Women

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