Norwegians Anders Mol and Christian Sorum and Russians Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Viacheslav Krasilnikov celebrated the medals they won at the Tokyo Olympics in different ways, but when it comes to the impact they hope their medals will have for beach volleyball in their countries, their thoughts are very similar.
The Beach Volley Vikings have only been able to celebrate the first gold medal for Norwegian beach volleyball with the members of their team, as they haven’t been home yet and will not travel back to Norway for at least another ten days. Mol and Sorum are currently competing at the European Championships in Vienna and will be in Hamburg next week for a King of the Court event.
“Yeah, these last few days we got a lot of messages and love from people from around the world,” Sorum said. “It was really nice to see that so many people were supporting us and we saw videos of a lot of people waking up in the middle of the night in Norway to watch us play. That, for us, means more than the medal itself.”
Stoyanovskiy and Krasilnikov in action at the European Championship (Photo: CEV)Stoyanovskiy and Krasilnikov, on the other hand, got to experience in-person what it's like to be an Olympic medallist in your country, even if it was only for a couple of days. The two Russians, who are also competing in Vienna, were part of the ROC delegation that was welcomed back to Moscow on Tuesday and took part in a huge celebratory event in their country’s capital.
“It was great to celebrate our result a little bit and even nicer to do it with our indoor team, who also got silver,” Stoyanovskiy said. “It was a really cool event, we rode on a bus through the centre of Moscow to the Red Square and there was a concert and an awarding ceremony for us and all the other medallists. It was unbelievable to experience all that.”
What both teams accomplished was unprecedented. It was the first time both countries made it on to a beach volleyball podium at the Olympic Games.
“This gold medal was really important for us but we hope it will be even for meaningful for Norway,” Sorum added. “Our main goal as athletes is to raise the popularity of beach volleyball in our country so more people can play it. We hope the medal gives a boost to the sport back home.”
Mol hits in a match against France's Quincy Aye and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat in Vienna (Photo: CEV)Russia has long been a powerhouse in the sport and Stoyanovskiy and Krasilnikov are the reigning world champions, but the weight of a first Olympic medal can be just as powerful when it comes to sending a message to an entire country.
“I think we showed our compatriots that our country can play beach volleyball at a very high level too,” he added. “We’re a ‘cold’ country, we cannot train at the beach all-year long, but we can still do a great job and prepare just as well as teams from any other country. It’s not just about Brazil and the United States any more when it comes to beach volleyball.”