The first Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour stop following the conclusion of the qualification period for the Paris 2024 Olympics, this week’s Gstaad Elite16 will also serve as preparation for the event, bringing even more importance to the tournament that has been a staple on the international beach volleyball calendar for more than two decades.

• Watch the Beach Pro Tour Gstaad Elite16 matches live on VBTV

Set to take place just three weeks before the start of the Games, the tournament at the Swiss Alps will reunite as many as 28 (15 women’s, 13 men’s) of the 48 teams qualified for Paris 2024, guaranteeing an extraordinary competition level from July 3-7.

Swiss fans will be particularly motivated for the tournament as they will be able to not only see their women’s team Esmée Böbner/Zoé Vergé-Dépré in action in their home sand, but also give them a proper sendoff ahead of the biggest event of the season – the Swiss start the event in the main draw thanks to a wildcard.

Besides the Swiss pair, will also start the Gstaad Elite16 in the main draw nine other Olympic duos – the Netherlands’ Raisa Schoon/Katja Stam, Canada’s Brandie Wilkerson/Melissa Humana-Paredes, USA’s Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss, Brazil’s Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa/Ana Patrícia Ramos and Carol Salgado/Bárbara Seixas, Latvia’s Tina Graudina/Anastasija Samoilova, Italy’s Marta Menegatti/Valentina Gottardi, China’s Chen Xue/Xinyi Xia and Germany's Cinja Tillmann/Svenja Müller.

Gstaad Elite16 – Women’s entry list

Beginning the tournament in the qualifier, where 16 teams will compete for four spots, will be Germany’s Laura Ludwig/Louisa Lippmann, Spain’s Daniela Álvarez/Tania Moreno, Australia’s Taliqua Clancy/Mariafe Artacho, Lithuania’s Monika Paulikiene/Aine Raupelyte and Czechia's Barbora Hermannová/Marie-Sára Štochlova.

Åhman and Hellvig lead 13 men's Olympic teams

On the men’s side, ten teams set to compete in Paris in a few weeks will start the Gstaad Elite16 in the main draw – Sweden’s David Åhman/Jonatan Hellvig, Brazil’s Andre Loyola/George Wanderley and Evandro Gonçalves/Arthur Lanci, Norway’s Anders Mol/Christian Sørum, Germany’s Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler, USA’s Andy Benesh/Miles Partain and Miles Evans/Chase Budinger, Chile’s Marco Grimalt/Esteban Grimalt, Italy’s Paolo Nicolai/Samuele Cottafava and Qatar’s Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan.

Gstaad Elite16 – Men’s entry list

Also qualified for Paris 2024, Poland’s Michal Bryl/Bartosz Łosiak, Australia’s Thomas Hodges/Zachery Schubert and Spain’s Pablo Herrera/Adrián Gavira will also get on the sand in the Swiss Alps, but will begin in the qualifier.

The Gstaad Elite16 will begin on Wednesday, with the qualifiers. Pool play will extend from Thursday to Friday, with the elimination rounds unfolding on Saturday and the medal match being held on Sunday.

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