Elite16 - Gstaad, SUI - 2026

Brouwer earns first-ever Gstaad gold, Boermans claims his second

Crabb & Budinger bring home silver, Evandro & Arthur Lanci claim bronze in Switzerland

Published 04:39, 05 Jul 2026

Boermans/Brouwer (NED) vs Crabb Tr./Budinger (USA) - Final 1st Place #111744232

Stefan Boermans & Alexander Brouwer of the Netherlands snatched their first-ever Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour gold as a pair at only their second appearance on the Tour together. 36-year-old legend Brouwer, a Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and a 2013 world champion, also earned his first-ever Gstaad Elite gold on Sunday, after a 2015 bronze and a 2019 silver at this iconic venue. Boermans also had two previous medals from Gstaad – gold in 2021 and bronze last year.

Watch the Gstaad Elite on VBTV

The 2026 Gstaad silver medal went to qualifiers Trevor Crabb & Chase Budinger. The two experienced American athletes also medaled at only their second appearance on the Tour as a team.

Brazil’s Evandro Oliveira & Arthur Mariano Lanci took bronze in Gstaad, their first Beach Pro Tour medal of the season and overall 10^th Tour podium since they joined forces in 2023. Evandro had two previous podiums in Gstaad, with gold in 2016 and bronze in 2019.

Seeded eighth in the main draw, Stefan Boermans & Alexander Brouwer lost their opening match in Gstaad, but then went on a furious winning streak of six consecutive matches to triumph on top of the podium. In four of those, however, including the semifinal and the final, they had to persevere through tough three-set battles. In Saturday’s 2-1 (27-25, 16-21, 15-10) semifinal against Evandro Oliveira & Arthur Mariano Lanci, both Boermans (five kill blocks towards a 23-point total) and Brouwer (three aces towards a 22-point total) went beyond the 20-point mark. In Sunday’s gold medal showdown, the Dutch duo came back from a ser down to celebrate a 2-1 (26-28, 21-17, 15-11) victory over USA’s Trevor Crabb & Chase Budinger. Boermans raised a fantastic 10 kill blocks and fired a couple of aces towards a match-high 31 points, while Brouwer produced 22, including the match winner.

“No words! It’s a dream!” an emotional Brouwer told VBTV right after the final, surrounded by two of his children on the court. “A childhood dream coming true! I remember 2010 was my first time here. I got knocked out in the second qualification round by the current USA coach Matt Fuerbringer, and I didn’t even get to see this amazing center court. 16 years later, in the most beautiful stadium in the world, I am here winning the gold cowbell!”

36-year-old Crabb and 38-year-old Budinger, seeded 19^th in the 24-team main draw, won seven matches in a row to get them from the Gstaad qualifications all the way to the Gstaad final. They crowned that victorious run with a hard-fought 2-0 (21-19, 25-23) semifinal win over another team from the qualifiers – 17^th-seeded Philipp Waller & Moritz Pristauz of Austria.

Ninth-seeded Brazilian Olympians Evandro & Arthur Lanci lost two of their pool matches in Gstaad, but moved on to the knockouts, progressing to the semifinals, where they conceded their next defeat. Still, they bounced back with a 2-0 (22-20, 21-16) victory over Waller & Pristauz in Sunday’s third-place playoff to get the bronze.