Mol says goodbye to the sand with Montréal three-peat alongside Sørum

Playing what would be his last tournament on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour in many months, Norwegian superstar Anders Mol said his brief goodbye to the sand by doing something he got very accustomed to in the last eight years - winning!

Set to make a move to indoor volleyball to play for Rana Verona in the 2026-2027 Italian League, the Olympic and world champion triumphed at this week's Montréal Elite with longtime partner Christian Sørum and claimed gold in the Canadian city for the third straight time, temporarily ending one of the most successful careers in the sport in proper fashion.

• Watch the Beach Pro Tour Montréal Elite replays on VBTV

Viewed by many as the greatest blocker of all time, the 29-year-old Mol will be absent from the sand until at least April 2027 while he represents Verona in the Italian League. After that, he will return to beach volleyball to attempt to qualify with Sørum for what would be their third Olympics after winning gold in Tokyo 2020 and bronze in Paris 2024.

The imminent temporary breakup brought the best out of the Beach Volley Vikings, who were dominant throughout the entire tournament and won gold without dropping a single set after they took down Brazilian qualifiers André Loyola and Renato Lima 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) in the gold medal match to triumph in Montréal for a third straight time, following victories in 2023 and 2025.

Mol's farewell victory, his 38th in 105 international events with Sørum, capped off a strong week for Norway in Canada, as the country had two other teams in the quarterfinals - Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen were fourth and Nils Ringøen and Evan Aas were fifth.

"We enjoyed every single point we had together here," Mol said. "We know it's going to be a while until the next time, so everything felt just unique and extra special. I'm very happy to have ended this week on a win and proud of the great tournament for Team Norway. The future is really bright."

Canadians win bronze

The home fans had more to celebrate in Montréal on the last day of the event as the country's top team of Sam Schachter and Jonathan Pickett made it to the podium, overcoming Mol and Berntsen 2-1 (16-21, 28-26, 15-12) in the bronze medal match.

Partners since the end of 2024, Schachter, a two-time Olympian, and Pickett earned their first medal in 16 Beach Pro Tour events together in front of their home fans in a campaign that saw them beat FIVB World Ranking leaders and reigning European champions Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson of Sweden in the quarterfinals.

"I've played for a long time, and nothing gets close to this moment," Schachter said. "We needed every ounce of support from our home fans, and they gave us everything we could possibly ask. I'm just so proud of my partner, my team, and everyone who helped me get here."

Montréal Elite - Results

The Montréal Elite was the eighth and last tournament in this category on the Beach Pro Tour in 2026. Six more Futures events are scheduled to take place before the end of the season, the next of which will be held simultaneously in Modena, Italy, and Brno, Czechia, next week, from August 27-30.

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