Brazilâs Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda Lisboa won Gstaad gold in an all-Brazilian final Sunday in the FIVB four-star beach volleyball event in Switzerland, defeating fellow Brazilian Olympians Ana Patricia Silva and Rebecca Cavalcanti 23-21, 21-18 after overcoming a six-point deficit in the first set.
Earlier Canadaâs Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes defeated Latviaâs Anastasija Kravcenoka and Tina Graudina 21-13, 13-21, 15-6 to earn bronze.
The event gives both Brazilian Olympic squads significant momentum heading into Tokyo 2020 competition less than two weeks out.
The victory is especially significant for Bednarczuk, who won the coveted Gstaad cowbell for the first time in 16 tries.
The 38-year-old Bednarczuk and 22-year-old Lisboa reached the final by beating Pavan and Humana-Paredes 21-13, 21-18 in Sunday’s earlier semifinals. Silva and Cavalcanti made their first final of 2021 with a win over Kravcenoka and Graudina 24-22, 18-21, 15-6.
Seeded third in the Olympics, Bednarczuk and Lisboa have been remarkably consistent on the World Tour in 2021, pulling down two gold medals (Gstaad and Cancun 2), silver (Cancun 3), and two bronze (Doha and Cancun 1). The Brazilians only finished off the podium twice, fifth in Sochi and ninth in Ostrava.
The Olympics begin July 24, with Bednarczuk and Duda seeded atop pool C, joining Canadians Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson, Chinaâs Fan Wang and Xinyi Xia, and Argentinaâs Ana Gallay and Fernanda Pereyra.
Pavan and Humana-Paredes were awarded their third medal of 2021, beginning the year with silver medals in Doha and Cancun 1. The Canadians are the top seed in Tokyo after qualifying via their win at the 2019 World Championships in Hamburg. They share Pool A with Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich and Anouk Verge-Depre, Germany’s Julia Sude and Karla Borger and the Netherlands’ Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon.
