Teams qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics dominated the first phase of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Gstaad Elite16, finishing at the top of each of the eight pools (four in each gender) ahead of the start of the elimination rounds in the Swiss Alps on Saturday.

• Watch the Beach Pro Tour Gstaad Elite16 matches live on VBTV

Only eight men’s and 12 women’s duos start in contention on Saturday and, by the end of the day, this total will be limited to the two finalists among the men and the four semifinalists among the women. Sunday’s schedule in Gstaad will feature the men’s medal matches and the women’s semifinals and medal matches.

Andre Loyola and George Wanderley were among the four pool winners on the men’s side. The Brazilians completed their undefeated campaign in Pool B with a 2-1 (18-21, 21-16, 15-10) win over Americans Miles Evans and Chase Budinger to finish first. In the quarterfinals, they will play compatriots Evandro Gonçalves and Arthur Lanci.

Olympic champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway, who took gold in Gstaad twice, were the top team in Pool C following their 2-0 (21-15, 21-11) victory over last year’s champions, Americans Andy Benesh and Miles Partain. The Beach Volley Vikings are set to meet fellow Olympic medalists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar in the quarterfinals.

Also preparing to compete in Paris in a few weeks, Polish Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak dominated Pool D with three triumphs. On Friday, they downed the home team of Marco Krattiger and Florian Breer 2-0 (21-15, 21-14). Their next opponents will be Italians Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava.

FIVB World Ranking leaders David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden were the fourth team to go undefeated in pool play in the Swiss Alps. The two-time European champions prevailed over the Chilean Grimalt cousins Marco and Esteban 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) and will battle Germans Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler in the quarterfinals after winning Pool A.

Gstaad Elite16 – Match Schedule and Results

Esmée and Zoé shine in Pool D

On the women’s side, Swiss Esmée Böbner and Zoé Vergé-Dépré showed they continue in good form after winning the country’s internal battle for a spot in Paris and ended pool play at the top of Pool D. The home team overcame three fellow Olympians and clinched the spot in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 (21-16, 19-21, 23-21) win over Spanish Daniela Álvarez and Tania Moreno. Their next opponents will come from the Round of 12 duel between China’s Chen Xue/Xinyi Xia and Brazil’s Ágatha Bednarczuk/Rebecca Cavalcanti.

Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson topped Pool B with the perfect record of three wins. On Friday, the Olympians overcame Americans Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles in the tie-breaker (17-21, 21-15, 15-9) – in the quarterfinals, they will play either Álvarez/Moreno or Latvia’s Tina Graudina/Anastasija Kravcenoka.

With a 2-0 (21-17, 21-15) victory over the Latvian duo, Americans Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss secured the top spot in Pool C. Guaranteed in the quarterfinals, they wait for the Round of 12 duel between Switzerland’s Joana Mäder/Anouk Vergé-Dépré and the Netherlands’ Raisa Schoon/Katja Stam to know their path to the semifinals.

Pool A had two teams tied with two wins and Italians Marta Menegatti and Valentina Gottardi took first place following their 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) victory over Schoon and Stam that gave them the edge in the tie-breakers. They now wait for the Round of 12 duel involving USA’s Terese Cannon/Megan Kraft and Brazil’s Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa/Ana Patrícia Ramos.

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