Latvian beach volleyball duos among favourites as European Championship begins

The European beach volleyball championship begins today in Stare Jabłonki, Poland, featuring three Latvian duos: Tīna Graudiņa/Anastasija Samoilova, Mārtiņš Pļaviņš/Kristians Fokerots, and Edgars Točs/Gustavs Auziņš. Both leading Latvian pairs arrive in strong form, having claimed medals just a week earlier at the prestigious Hamburg "Elite 16" event.

Women's tournament

World champions and top seeds Graudiņa/Samoilova open Group A against Estonians Helēna Hollas and Līsa Remmelga. The Latvians rank second in the world behind Brazil's Cavalcanti/Salgado, and trained alongside the Estonian pair during a joint winter camp. Ahead of the event, Graudiņa said she and Samoilova have made the European Championship their main season goal, hoping to finally reach at least the semifinals after three years without doing so, and to fight for a medal.

Men's tournament

In the men's Group D, fourth-seeded Pļaviņš/Fokerots will face their regular training partners Točs/Auziņš. Pļaviņš and Fokerots rank second in the world behind Sweden's Hellvig-Andersson pairing, having taken bronze twice at Brazilian "Elite 16" events this season and recently earning their first-ever win at that level in Rio de Janeiro. Točs and Auziņš, who together with Pļaviņš and Fokerots previously won the CEV Nations Cup — securing Latvia an extra spot at the championship — recently failed to get through qualification for the Hamburg event.

Group winners advance directly to the second round of the knockout stage, while the eventual champions in both tournaments will also earn a spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Latvia has a strong European Championship history in beach volleyball: Graudiņa/Samoilova won gold in 2019 and 2022, Pļaviņš/Fokerots in 2024, while Inguna Minusa and Inese Jursone claimed Latvia's first-ever title in 2009. The tournament in Stare Jabłonki concludes on Sunday.