David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig secured their first Elite16 title in Tepic ©Volleyball World

Swedish and American pairs triumphed in the Mexican city of Tepic to claim gold in the Elite16 event on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour.

David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig secured the biggest wins of their career on the Tour has they finally got the better of Norway's Olympic champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum in the men's final.

The Swedes had suffered three consecutive losses but stopped the rot with a straight-set 21-16, 21-15 victory at the Amado Nervo Auditorium.

Germans Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers rounded out the top three following their defeat of Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot of The Netherlands.

It is Åhman and Hellvig's first title at the Elite16 level after silvers in Cape Town and Doha last year.

"We knew that we had been close when we played them before, so we knew it was possible," Åhman said.

"But they’re a really tough team to beat and knew we couldn’t make any mistakes.

"We were super focused and just gave it our all."


The United States' Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes celebrated their fourth title in as many months in the women's event.

Despite dropping a set for the first time in the tournament, the duo managed to pull through and overcome the reigning world champions Eduarda Lisboa and Ana Patrícia Ramos of Brazil.

Australians Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho took bronze as they beat Valentina Gottardi and Marta Menegatti of Italy 2-1.

"It's been amazing," Hughes said.

"I'm so happy to be playing with Kelly and just working with our entire team.

"We're putting together the right strategies and working as hard as we can.

"We have all the support back home and that’s what makes a good team."

Cheng and Hughes have been in fine form in their second stint as partners, having won four of the six Beach Pro Tour events they competed at since their reunion, including the 2022 Beach Pro Tour Finals.