Lithuania, Poland and Russia take top spots in Larnaka

Lithuania's Ieva Dumbauskaite and Monika Povilaityte held off a comeback effort by Poland's defending champions Karolina Baran/Katarzyna Kociolek to earn the women's gold medal at the 2012 FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH Youth World Championships, the 11th annual event for players under 19, which was held in a special purpose-built complex featuring the stadium centre court at Finikoudes Beach.

In an intense gold medal match between two teams who know each other well, Lithuania's 18th-seeded Dumbauskaite/Povilaityte recorded a two-set gold medal victory over Poland's second-seeded defending FIVB SWATCH Youth World Champions Baran/Kociolek in a thrilling 39-minute match.

In another tight battle for the bronze medal, Russia's 12th-seeded Ksenia Dabizha/Anna Gorbunova came back after losing the first set to defeat Germany's seventh-seeded Sandra Ittlinger/Yanina Weiland 2-1 in a 53-minute match.