Played at the beautiful Eiffel Tower Stadium, the beach volleyball tournament at the Paris Olympics was one to remember.
Highlighted by epic upsets and top-ranked teams living up to the hype, both the men's and women's tournaments had it all.
Brazilian duo Ana Patricia/Duda never lost a match in a dominant run through the women's field. The No. 1 Brazilians survived the gauntlet of the women's tournament, one Americans Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss and Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes couldn't. Despite both teams having gold medal hopes, Kloth/Nuss were eliminated by eventual silver medalists Brandie Wilkerson/Melissa Humana-Paredes of Canada.
Cheng/Hughes suffered a similar fate, falling to bronze medalists Nina Brunner/Tanja Huberli.
On the men's side, 22-year old Swedish phenoms David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig lived up to the hype, overcoming a couple of early losses to hoist gold medals in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Defending gold medalists Anders Mol/Christian Sorum of Norway showed why they are still one of the best teams in the world after winning bronze and Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler shocked the world by powering past the Norwegians in the semifinals and ultimately winning silver.
Beach volleyball at the Paris Olympics will go down as one of the most exciting tournaments of all time. Here's how it all went down.
Medal Table
| Country | Medal |
|---|---|
| Brazil | Gold |
| Canada | Silver |
| Switzerland | Bronze |
| Country | Medal |
|---|---|
| Sweden | Gold |
| Germany | Silver |
| Norway | Bronze |
Women's Tournament
The women's tournament had some shocking moments, mainly American duos Kloth/Nuss and Cheng/Hughes being eliminated before the semifinals. The U.S. teams were strong medal contenders as Kloth/Nuss had a storied collegiate career at LSU and Cheng/Hughes were coming off a 2023 world title.
But it wasn't meant to be for the Americans, and both squads lost to teams who finished on the podium.
The two teams that beat the U.S. faced each other in the semifinals, with Wilkerson/Humana-Paredes continuing their magical run to outlast Brunner/Huberli in a three-set comeback victory to reach the women’s gold medal game.
With the win, Wilkerson/Huma-Paredes became the first beach volleyball team since Italy’s Paolo Niccolai/Daniele Lupo to play in the gold medal match after competing in the “lucky loser” qualifier.
In the other semifinal, Ana Patricia/Duda knocked off Australia’s Taliqua Clancy/Mariafe Artacho in three sets (20-22, 21-15, 15-12) in a battle between the No. 1 team in the world and the Tokyo silver medalists.
It was a match fitting of a semifinal, as it was packed with drama and emotion through to the final point.
Brunner/Huberli muscled past Australia’s Clancy/Artacho to win bronze.
Huberli — one of the premier blockers in the world — was a force at the net as Clancy/Artacho had no answers for the 6-foot-3 star. Whether she was dropping the hammer with a spike or using her touch to float shots over the Australians, Huberli was on another level in the bronze medal match.
Tournament favorites Ana Patricia/Duda defeated Wilkerson/Humana-Paredes in three sets (26-24,12-21, 15-10), winning the country’s first women’s beach volleyball gold medal since 1996.
Wilkerson/Humana-Paredes gave Ana Patricia/Duda all they could handle in the first women’s beach volleyball gold medal final to ever reach three sets, but Brazil was able to wear out Canada and win the third set, capturing the gold medal that has eluded the country since beach volleyball became an official Olympic sport.
Wilkerson/Humana-Paredes are the first Canadian women's beach volleyball team to ever win a medal at the Olympic Games.
Medalists
Gold: Brazil (Ana Patricia/Duda)
Silver: Canada (Wilkerson/Humana Paredes)
Bronze: Switzerland (Brunner/Huberli)
Men's Tournament
The U.S. also didn't have a team reach the semifinals in the men's tournament, with Miles Partain/Andy Benesh and Chase Budinger/Miles Evans bowing out to eventual medal contenders.
2024 marked the first time that a U.S. beach volleyball team, men's or women's, failed to reach the Olympic podium.
There were a fair share of dynamic teams in the men's tournament, including the hard-hitting Jorge Alayo/Noslen Diaz of Cuba, Tokyo bronze medalists Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan of Qatar and the unique Italian duo of Adrian Carambula/Alex Ranghieri.
Carambula captivated with his signature "sky ball," one of the most unorthodox maneuvers in the sport.
Ehlers/Wickler upset Tokyo gold medalists Mol/Sorum in three sets (21-13, 17-21, 15-13) to advance to the men’s gold medal final. It was an epic back-and-forth affair between two of the most consistent teams in the world, as Germany stepped up in the biggest moments to seal the victory.
But Norway didn't go home empty-handed, as Mol/Sorum defeated Younousse/Tijan in dominant fashion to win a bronze medal.
In the gold medal match, Ahman/Hellvig made quick work of Germany’s Ehlers/Wickler to win Sweden’s first-ever Olympic beach volleyball gold. The 22-year-old Swedish phenoms ran through the Germans in two sets, 21-10, 21-13.
No team has managed to win back-to-back gold medals through eight men's Olympic beach volleyball competitions. Ahman/Hellvig have the youth and skill to make that a possibility in Los Angeles.
Medalists
Gold: Sweden (David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig)
Silver: Germany (Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler)
Bronze: Norway (Anders Mol/Christian Sorum)