Men's and women's Olympic beach volleyball semifinals take place Thursday at Eiffel Tower Stadium. Below are the details from each match as teams hope to compete for gold.
Men's semifinal: Germany def. Norway
Germany’s Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler upset Tokyo gold medalists Anders Mol/Christian 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.
Two 3-0 runs from the Germans fueled them to a dominant Set 1 win, but the next two sets were as close as possible. Norway stormed back to take the second set, and the third set came down right to the end.
Germany challenged a net fault on Norway for the final point of the match. The challenge was ruled successful and gave Ehlers/Wickler the triumphant victory in dramatic fashion.
Germany out-attacked Norway by 14 points, and the 6-foot-11 Ehlers came up big at the net with nine blocks.
Mol/Sorum won’t get the opportunity to become the first back-to-back men’s beach volleyball gold medalists, while Ehlers/Wickler look to win Germany’s third beach volleyball gold.
Women's semifinal: Canada def. Switzerland
Canada’s Brandie Wilkerson/Melissa Humana-Paredes continued their magical run, outlasting Switzerland’s Nina Brunner/Tanja Huberli in a three-set comeback victory to reach the women’s gold medal game.
The back-and-forth game saw the Swiss take the first set, 21-14, before the Canadians rang off two straight victories in 22-20, 15-12 fashion.
It was a match of runs, as both teams battled for the advantage underneath the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
With the win, Wilkerson/Huma-Paredes will be 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.
Women's semifinal: Brazil def. Australia
Ana Patricia/Duda of Brazil 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.
The match also featured a battle of cardio between blockers 6-foot-4 Ana Patricia and 6-foot-2 Clancy, who duked it out for advantage at the net.
Ana Patricia/Duda dropped their first set of the Olympics in the first period, but responded — fueled by a 4-0 run — in Set 2.
The final set was a chess match between two of the top teams in the world, with both sides trading blows. Duda showed off incredible range and versatility by digging multiple shots and putting Brazil in scoring position on the attack.
The statistics of the match were near identical across the board. Ana Patricia/Duda will face Canada's Brandie Wilkerson/Melissa Humana-Paredes in the gold medal final.
Men's semifinal: Sweden def. Qatar
Despite beating Sweden in pool play earlier in the tournament, Qatar’s Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan didn’t have enough to overcome top-ranked Swedish team David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig in the men’s semifinals.
The Swedes rolled in straight sets, 21-13, 21-17, to advance to the gold medal final in their first Olympic Games. The 22-year-old phenoms scored early and often with their innovative jump-set technique that's taken the sport by storm.
While Qatar was one of the best defensive teams in the men's tournament, Younousse/Tijan could not keep up with the pace of the high-flying Swedish duo. Younousse attempted top get the crowd behind the Qataris on multiple occasions but they didn't have enough answers to combat Ahman/Hellvig.
Nine digs gave the Swedes multiple scoring opportunities in the comfortable and confident win.
Ahman/Hellvig will face Germany's Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler in the gold medal final.