The Elite 16 Tepic Serves Up High-Octane Volleyball
Beach volleyball's elite clash in Tepic, Mexico! Olympic champs and rising stars battle for ranking points crucial for Paris 2024. Mexicans aim to impress on home turf and secure their spot in the NORCECA qualifiers.
The Elite 16 Tepic, the highest-level beach volleyball event on the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Tour, will get underway this Wednesday in the capital of Nayarit, where the best will meet teams and exponents of the specialty seeking to take a shot at authority in the ranking towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
After the successful organization and celebration of the Challenge Guadalajara, held the previous week in Jalisco with great response from the public, our country will once again witness a constellation that will shine in its maximum splendor, as there will be the presence of medalists and monarchs in Olympic and world competitions.
For the second consecutive year (Elite 16 Tepic 2023), the Amado Nervo Auditorium will open its doors to outstanding duos such as the Czechs Ondrej Perusic/David Schweiner, and the Americans Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes, who established themselves in their respective branches during the World Championship Tlaxcala 2023 and won their ticket to Paris 2024.
The Swedes David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig will also be present, silver medalists in Tlaxcala 2023 and who will try to endorse the previous year's title won in Tepic against the Norwegians Christian Sorum / Anders Mol, champions in Tokyo 2020 who will not be present this time for a considerable injury to Mol.
The women's branch promises an exciting dispute to conquer national soil, as outstanding and award-winning athletes such as the German Laura Ludwig, the Brazilian Bárbara Seixas or the Chinese Xue Chen will compete, all Olympic medalists and world monarchs, as well as the number one in the ranking. : Ana Patricia/Duda, from Brazil.
The qualifying process for Paris 2024 is in its final stretch, and the Elite 16 Tepic will be a key tournament for the aspirations of volleyball players who seek to ensure their presence in the great event, since at the moment there are only two binomials per branch with a guaranteed quota and the ranking will grant 17 places per category (the remaining five will be competed in qualifiers for each continent).
As part of its preparation for the NORCECA Continental Pre-Olympic that will take place in June, the Mexican team of the specialty will be represented by four pairs, two in the classification (Yeray Vidaurrazaga/Susana Torres and Ricardo Galindo/Oziel Aguirre) and two in the main graph (Abril Flores/Atenas Gutiérrez and Miguel Sarabia/Gabriel Cruz).
Olympic dreams take flight at the Elite 16 Tepic, where champions and challengers battle for glory. Credit: CONADE
The qualifying stage will take place this Wednesday, the group stage between Thursday and Friday, the quarterfinals and semifinals on Saturday, and the medal matches will be held on Sunday.
