Pļaviņš and Fokerots finish European Championship in shared ninth place

Latvian beach volleyball pair Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Kristians Fokerots ended their European Championship campaign on Friday in Stare Jablonki, Poland, with a round-of-16 loss. The fourth-seeded Latvians fell 0-2 (18:21, 9:21) to Sweden's Jonathan Hellvig and David Åhman, the second seeds. As a result, Pļaviņš and Fokerots shared ninth place and collected 460 world ranking points.

Before the knockout stage, the Latvian duo had won all three group matches in straight sets, finishing first in Group D and securing a spot directly in the round of 16.

Earlier, on Thursday, Latvia's other men's pair, Edgars Točs and Gustavs Auziņš, were eliminated in the first playoff round. They ended in shared 17th place and earned 360 world ranking points.

In the women's tournament, top-seeded reigning world champions Tīna Graudiņa and Anastasija Samoilova have reached the quarterfinals. On Friday, no earlier than 7 p.m., they will face Ukraine's Tetiana Lazarenko and Sofiia Kurnikova. The winners of both the men's and women's tournaments will also secure berths for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Latvia has a strong history at the European beach volleyball championships. Graudiņa and Samoilova won titles in 2019 and 2022, while Inguna Minusa and Inese Jursone claimed the country's first gold in 2009. In the men's event, Jānis Šmēdiņš and Aleksandrs Samoilovs triumphed in 2015, and Pļaviņš and Fokerots did so in 2024. Latvian pairs have also taken four silver medals and one bronze. The championship in Stare Jablonki concludes on Sunday.