Volleyball

Olympic Beach Volleyball Rankings: Crabb-Brunner take big leap with Guadalajara gold

April 16, 2024

The race for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games officially began in February 2023 in Doha, Qatar, with the Volleyball World Elite16. The 2024 season began the first week of March back in Doha, and the final event of the Olympic qualification cycle will be the Ostrava Elite16, which ends on June 9. We’ll be providing these updates for the Beach Volleyball Olympic rankings throughout the next two years.

Within an hour or so after Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner won gold at the Guadalajara Challenge, the messages came pouring in: Did that seal the deal?

Are Crabb and Brunner going to the Paris Olympics?

Maybe. A gold medal, and the 800 points that come with it, certainly do not hurt the cause of Brunner and Crabb. They are now the No. 2 USA men’s team by a 480-point margin over Chase Budinger and Miles Evans. But the race is far from over, and even that lead is still a touch deceiving.

Budinger and Evans won a critical qualifier to represent the USA at the NORCECA Continental Finals in May. It’s an event that is worth the same points as a Challenge, but without the formidable field typical of Challenge level events. Barring something extraordinary, they are almost guaranteed a semifinal appearance and a minimum of 680 points, though more can reasonably be expected. Crabb and Brunner’s gold gave them a comfortable cushion for when Budinger and Evans inevitably rake in a bounty of NORCECA points prior to the final three qualifying events, in Portugal, Poland, and Ostrava bridging the end of May and early June.

The gold is helpful, yes. Immensely so. But it is hardly a guarantee of anything, other than the point threshold for a USA team to punch their ticket to Paris continues to get higher.

It is nearly the identical story being written by Zoe Verge-Depre and Esmee Bobner, the young Swiss pair who continues to flip positions with Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Mader. In four tournaments this season, the lead has switched four times, though Zoe and Bobner’s gold in Guadalajara gives them the most breathing room they’ve had all year, a 220-point edge that is nice but, like Brunner and Crabb’s lead, far from comfortable.

The next Olympic qualifying event is an Elite16 in Tepic Mexico, that begins with a qualifier on Wednesday.

Men’s Beach Volleyball Olympic Rankings

(updated April 15 after the Guadalajara Challenge)

Anders Mol, Christian Sorum, NORWAY, 10460 (10)
David Ahman, Jonatan Hellvig, SWEDEN, 10020 (9)
Nils Ehlers, Clemens Wickler, GERMANY, 9100 (12)
Andre Loyola, George Wanderley, BRAZIL, 8840 (12)
Sam Cottafava, Paolo Nicolai, ITALY, 8800 (12)
Evandro Goncalves, Arthur Mariano, BRAZIL, 8660 (12)
Alex Brouwer, Robert Meeuwsen, NETHERLANDS, 8160 (12)
Ondrej Perusic, David Schweiner, Czech Republic, 7780 (8)
Adrian Gavira, Pablo Herrera, SPAIN, 7780 (12)
Theo Brunner, Trevor Crabb, USA, 7720 (12)
Andy Benesh, Miles Partain, USA, 7620 (9)
Thomas Hodges, Zachery Schubert, AUSTRALIA, 7380 (12)
Adrian Carambula, Alex Ranghieri, ITALY, 7380 (11)
Julian Horl, Alex Horst, AUSTRIA, 7260 (12)
Chase Budinger, Miles Evans, USA, 7240 (12)
Cherif Samba, Ahmed Tijan, QATAR, 7200 (10)
Matthew Immers, Steven van de Velde, NETHERLANDS, 7200 (12)
Pedro Solberg, Guto Carvalhaes, BRAZIL, 7120 (12)
Michal Bryl, Bartosz Losiak, POLAND, 7080 (9)
Vitor Felipe, Renato Lima, BRAZIL, 6760 (12)
Stefan Boermans, Yorick de Groot, NETHERLANDS, 6640 (8)
Tri Bourne, Chaim Schalk, USA, 6580 (12)
Esteban Grimalt, Marco Grimalt, CHILE, 6560 (12)
Moritz Pristauz, Robin Seidl, AUSTRIA, 6500 (12)
Piotr Kantor, Jakub Zdybek, POLAND, 5960 (12)
Hendrik Mol, Mathias Berntsen, NORWAY, 5920 (12)
Sam Schachter, Dan Dearing, CANADA, 5900 (12)
Daniele Lupo, Enrico Rossi, ITALY, 5720 (12)
Jorge Alayo, Noslen Diaz, CUBA, 5580 (9)
Paul Burnett, Chris McHugh, AUSTRALIA, 5460 (12)
Sergiy Popov, Eduard Reznik, UKRAINE, 5300 (11)
Mark Nicolaidis, Izac Carracher, AUSTRALIA, 5200 (12)

Women’s Beach Volleyball Olympic Rankings

(updated April 15 after Guadalajara Challenge)

Duda Lisboa, Ana Patricia Silva, BRAZIL, 11820 (12)
Kristen Nuss, Taryn Kloth, USA, 10860 (12)
Carolina Salgado, Barbara Seixas, BRAZIL, 10200 (12)
Kelly Cheng, Sara Hughes, USA, 10040 (11)
Melissa Humana-Paredes, Brandie Wilkerson, CANADA, 8860 (10)
Raisa Schoon, Katja Stam, NETHERLANDS, 8840 (12)
Xinyi Xia, Chen Xue, CHINA, 8600 (12)
Tina Graudina, Anastasija Samoilova, LATVIA, 8560 (12)
Valentina Gottardi, Marta Menegatti, ITALY, 8200 (12)
Victoria Lopes, Taina Silva, BRAZIL, 7720 (12)
Agatha, Rebecca, BRAZIL, 7620 (12)
Nina Brunner, Tanja Huberli, SWITZERLAND, 7560 (10)
Esmee Bobner, Zoe Verge-Depre, SWITZERLAND, 7360 (12)
Mariafe Artacho, Taliqua Clancy, AUSTRALIA, 7310 (10)
Anouk Verge-Depre, Joana Mader, SWITZERLAND, 7140 (12)
Daniela Alvarez, Tania Moreno, SPAIN, 7060 (12)
Svenja Muller, Cinja Tillman, GERMANY, 6900 (10)
Lezana Placette, Alexia Richard, FRANCE, 6780 (12)
Betsi Flint, Julia Scoles, USA, 6740 (11)
Monika Paulikiene, Aine Raupelyte, LITHUANIA, 6680 (12)
Laura Ludwig, Louisa Lippmann, GERMANY, 6500 (11)
Karla Borger, Sandra Ittlinger, GERMANY, 6460 (12)
Andressa Cavalcanti, Vitoria De Souza, BRAZIL, 6240 (12)
Lili Fernandez, Paula Soria, SPAIN, 6220 (12)
Sarah Pavan, Molly McBain, CANADA, 6080 (12)
Niina Ahtiainen, Taru Lahti, FINLAND, 5960 (12)
Dorina Klinger, Ronja Klinger, AUSTRIA, 5920 (12)
Jagoda Gruszczynska, Ola Wachowicz, POLAND, 5820 (12)
Barbora Hermannova, Marie-Sara Stochlova, CZECH REPUBLIC, 5740 (12)
Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee, Taravadee Naraphornrapat, THAILAND, 5640 (12)
Jie Dong, Fan Wang, CHINA, 5080 (12)
Sophie Bukovec, Heather Bansley, CANADA, 4740 (9)

Previous rankings

Things to know about Olympic Beach qualifying:

To qualify for the Olympic Games via the Olympic rankings, teams use their best 12 finishes throughout the Olympic qualifying period, which ends June 9, 2024. The top 17 from the Olympic rankings will punch their tickets to the Paris Olympics. The remaining seven spots are allotted to five continental cup champions, the winner of the 2023 World Championships, and the French wild card.
Each country is limited to two teams who can earn a spot in the Olympic Games.
Teams can never push out good finishes. Once you hit your 12, you only replace your worst finishes. In parentheses below is the number of events each pair has played.
You earn points as a team. Therefore, if a team breaks up and the individuals select new partners, they begin with zero Olympic ranking points, although they keep their individual entry points to get into events.
Click here for the full Beach Pro Tour schedule. The next Volleyball World event will be an Elite16 in Tepic, Mexico.