Fokerots and Auziņš chase their last missing youth title in Madrid

Qualification for the European U22 beach volleyball championship took place on Wednesday at the Puerta de Hierro sports park in Madrid, with the main draw running from Thursday through Sunday. This year the field has been reduced to 24 pairs in each gender category, though prize money has been introduced for the top finishers.

One title still missing for Fokerots and Auziņš

Kristians Fokerots and Gustavs Auziņš are among the most successful Latvian players in youth beach volleyball history. They won the European U18 title in 2022 in Greece, the world U19 title the same year in Turkey, the European U20 title in 2024 in Poland, and the world U21 title in 2025 in Mexico. The only trophy still missing from their collection is the European U22 gold — last year Fokerots, then playing with a different partner, lost the final to a French pair.

This year the duo is seeded second behind Spanish hosts Mar and Leo Mañanes. In a three-team group, the Latvians will face a French pair and a Serbian pair who advanced through qualification; the winner of that opening match plays Latvia on Friday, the loser on Thursday, and the top two finishers move on to the round of 16.

Ēbere and Konstantinova among the favorites

In the women's event, Latvia is represented by Līva Ēbere and Deniela Konstantinova, playing their final youth championship together. The pair has twice won silver at the European U20 championship and once claimed bronze at U22 level. Seeded fourth, they will face Polish and Spanish opponents in the group stage.

The women's top seeds are the Spanish hosts, alongside experienced Czech and Dutch pairs.

Since 1999, Latvian athletes have won 13 medals in this youth championship category, four of them gold — the most recent coming in the men's event in 2018.