Pļaviņš/Fokerots earn Latvia’s first elite beach volleyball gold
Latvia’s Pļaviņš/Fokerots defeated a French pair in the Rio de Janeiro Elite16 final to claim the country’s first elite-level gold medal.
Latvian beach volleyball duo Pļaviņš/Fokerots won the Elite16 gold medal in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. They beat the French pair 21:17, 21:11 in the final. The opponents had taken silver in an elite event in March, and both teams were chasing their first career elite gold.
The Latvians controlled the opening set. Fokerots opened with a block, while Pļaviņš made several defensive plays. The French committed an error to give Latvia a 13:10 lead, and Fokerots later blocked for 20:16 before the set ended 21:17.
The second set started even better for the Latvian pair. Fokerots again opened with a block, Pļaviņš was solid in defence, and Latvia moved ahead 8:0. The French narrowed the gap to five points, but Pļaviņš/Fokerots restored an eight-point lead. Fokerots added another block, and the match closed 21:11 after the French hit into the net.
This was the second elite gold final for Pļaviņš/Fokerots, and once again their opponents came from France. In previous editions of this event, they finished third in 2024 and fourth in 2025. The victory gave Latvia its first elite gold; Latvian women’s pairs have not yet achieved this.
En route to the final, Pļaviņš/Fokerots beat pairs from Brazil, Italy and Australia in the group stage, then won against opponents from Israel, Argentina and Austria in the knockout rounds. Their head-to-head record against the final opponents now stands at 2-2. The temperature at the venue was 25 degrees.
Winning the elite event earns 1,200 ranking points and a $40,000 prize. As previously reported, Latvia’s men’s national team also won the Nations Cup a few weeks ago.
