Women

2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Championships in the Swiss Alps!

Men

Much to the surprise of many cynics and pleasure of Beach Volleyball fans, the summer slopes of Gstaad in the Swiss Alps will host a SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event for the eighth-straight year.  The 2007 Gstaad stop will be the site of the SWATCH-FIVB World Championships July 24-29. Over 100,000 spectators are expected to converge on Gstaad to see the top 48 men’s and women’s teams compete for the US$1-million in prize money.  The 2007 SWATCH FIVB World Championships will be the most important international event in the qualification process for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.  In addition to the $1-million in prize money, the 2007 SWATCH FIVB World Championships also offers the highest points for an event during the Olympic qualifying. The infrastructure offered in Gstaad will rival the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball stadium planned for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, since the small mountain resort with a population of 7,000, including surrounding communities, will be offering the same 12,000-seat stadium capacity that will be available in Beijing where there is a population of 15 million.

June 22-26, 2005 at Berlin - Semi-Finals - Sascha Heyer/Paul Laciga, Switzerland (No. 8-seeded team) def. Julius Brink/Kjell Schneider, Germany (13), 21-16, 19-21, 15-13 (69 minutes); Marcio Araujo/Fabio Magalhaes, Brazil (2) def. Marvin Polte/Thorsten Schoen, Germany (43), 21-18, 21-14 (53).  Bronze Medal - Brink/Schneider, Germany (13) def. Polte/Schoen, Germany (43), 16-21, 21-17, 15-10 (65), Gold Medal - Marcio Araujo/Fabio, Brazil (2) def. Heyer/P. Laciga, Switzerland (8), 22-20, 21-12 (42).

October 14-19, 2003 at Rio de Janeiro - Semi-Finals - Emanuel Rego/Ricardo Santos, Brazil (1) won by forfeit over Joao Brenha/Luis Maia, Portugal (13); Dax Holdren/Stein Metzger, United States (15) def. Marcio Araujo/Benjamin Insfran, Brazil (2), 21-19 and 21-14 (46).  Bronze Medal - Marcio Araujo/Benjamin, Brazil (2) won by forfeit over Brenha/Maia, Portugal (13), Gold Medal - Emanuel/Ricardo, Brazil (1) def. Holdren/Metzger, United States (15), 21-18 and 21-15 (44).

August 1-5, 2001 at Klagenfurt, Austria - Semi-Finals - Mariano Baracetti/Martin Conde, Argentina (4) def. Rob Heidger/Chip McCaw, United States (4), 21-16 and 21-16 (44), Jose Loiola/Ricardo Santos, Brazil (10) def. Jorre Kjemperud/Vegard Hoidalen, Norway (6), 29-31, 21-19 and 15-12 (69).  Bronze Medal - Kjemperud/Hoidalen, Norway (6) def. Heidger/McCaw, United States (18), 21-16 and 21-14 (37), Gold Medal - Baracetti/Conde, Argentina (4) def. Loiola/Ricardo, Brazil (10), 25-23, 12-21 and 20-18 (69).

July 20-25, 1999 at Marseille, France - Semi-Finals – Emanuel Rego /Jose Loiola, Brazil (2) def. Javier Bosma/Fabio Diez, Spain (8), 15-11 (53), Paul Laciga/Martin Laciga, Switzerland (6) def. Para Ferreira/Guilherme Marques, Brazil (3), 15-11 (56), Bronze Medal - Para/Guilherme, Brazil (3) def. Bosma/Diez, Spain (8), 15-7 (35), Gold Medal - Emanuel/Loiola, Brazil (2) def. P. Laciga/M. Laciga, Switzerland (6), 15-8 (50).

September 10-13, 1997 at Los Angeles - Semi-Finals -Guilherme Marques/Para Ferreira, Brazil (9) def. Paulao Moreira/Paulo Emilio Silva, Brazil (4, Q1), 10-12, 12-9 and 15-13 (136), Canyon Ceman/Mike Whitmarsh, United States (3) def. Dain Blanton/Kent Steffes, United States (2), 12-5 ad 12-8 (68), No Bronze Medal Match, Gold Medal - Guilherme/Para, Brazil (9) def. Ceman/Whitmarsh, United States (3), 5-12, 12-8 and 12-10 (90).

June 21-25, 2005 at Berlin - Semi-Finals - Juliana Felisberta Silva/Larissa Franca Brazil (No. 1-seeded team) def. Dalixia Fernandez Grasset/Tamara Larrea Peraza, Cuba (13), 21-15, 21-16 (38 minutes); Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh, United States (19) def. Jia Tian/Fei Wang, China (5) 21-16, 19-21, 5-4 retired (52). Bronze Medal - Jia Tian/Fei Wang, China (5) def. Fernandez Grasset/Larrea Peraza, Cuba (13), 21-13, 21-17 (40), Gold Medal - May-Treanor/Walsh, United States (19) def. Juliana/Larissa, Brazil (1), 21-17, 21-17 (40).

October 7-12, 2003 at Rio de Janeiro - Semi-Finals - Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh, United States (1) def. Natalie Cook/Nicole Sanderson, Australia (5), 19-21, 21-19 and 18-16 (61), Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, Brazil (3) def. Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan, United States (7), 21-16 and 21-16 (40), Bronze Medal - Natalie Cook/Nicole Sanderson, Australia (5) def. Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan, United States (7), 21-16 and 21-17 (35), Gold Medal – May-Treanor/Walsh, United States (1) def. Shelda/Adriana, Brazil (3), 21-19 and 21-19 (40).

August 1-4, 2001 at Klagenfurt, Austria - Semi-Finals - Adriana Behar/Shelda Bede, Brazil (1) def. Eva Celbova/Sona Dosoudilova, Czech Republic (12), 21-15 and 21-16 (37), Sandra Pires/Tatiana Minello, Brazil (3) def. Barbra Fontana/Elaine Youngs, United States (2), 21-19, 13-21 and 15-13 (61), Bronze Medal - Celbova/Dosoudilova, Czech Republic (12) def. Fontana/Youngs, United States (2), 21-17 and 21-19 (39), Gold Medal - Adriana/Shelda, Brazil (1) def. Pires/Minello, Brazil (3), 21-16 and 21-18 (39).

July 19-24, 1999 at Marseille, France - Semi-Finals - Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan, United States (8) def. Liz Masakayan/Elaine Youngs, United States (13), 15-11 (50), Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, Brazil (1) wo by forfeit over Sandra Pires/Adriana Samuel, Brazil (3), Bronze Medal - Masakayan/Youngs, United States (13) won by forfeit over Pires/Samuel, Brazil (3), Gold Medal - Shelda/Adriana, Brazil (1) def. Davis/Johnson Jordan, United States (8), 15-11 (30).

September 10-13, 1997 at Los Angeles - Semi-Finals - Lisa Arce/Holly McPeak, United States (1) def. Karolyn Kirby/Nancy Reno, United States (12), 12-4 and 12-9 (77), Sandra Pires/Jackie Silva, Brazil (3) def. Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, Brazil (2), 12-11, 4-12 and 12-3 (116), No Bronze Medal Match, Gold Medal - Pires/Silva, Brazil (3) def. Arce/McPeak, United States (1), 12-11, 1-12 and 12-10 (89).

Men - Five different teams from four different countries have won titles in the Swiss Alps as Gstaad became a SWATCH-FIVB World Tour grand slam event in 2006.  The 2004 Gstaad men’s SWATCH-FIVB World Tour final featured the first All-European gold medal match since 1994 as Athens Olympic Bronze medalists Patrick Heuscher and Stefan Kobel delighted the home crowd by defeating Markus Dieckmann and Jonas Reckermann of Germany in the title match.  Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos, the reigning Olympic and 2003 SWATCH-FIVB World Champions, have captured the past two Gstaad gold medals by defeating Brazilian rivals in the finale.

2006 Gstaad podium (left to right), Marcio Araujo, Fabio, Ricardo, Emanuel, Brink and Dieckmann

Women - Three different teams from two different countries have won titles in the Swiss Alps as Gstaad became a SWATCH-FIVB World Tour grand slam event in 2006. Teams from Brazil (10 medals) and the United States (eighth) have dominated the Gstaad competition with only teams from Australia (one) and China (two) gaining the other podium spots in the Alps.  Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar of Brazil, two-time SWATCH-FIVB World Champions (1999 and 2001),  had medaled at each Gstaad stop before placing 17th in 2006.  The Brazilians have shared $118,900 in earnings in the Swiss Alps.  Simone Kuhn has posted the host country’s best Gstaad finishes with ninths in 2002 and 2003 with Nicole Schnyder, and 2005 and 2006 with Lea Schwer.

2006 Gstaad podium (left to right) Larissa, Juliana, Walsh, May-Treeanor, Tian Jia and Wang Jie