Teams supported by the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment Programme won five of the six medals at the 2026 CSV South America Beach Volleyball Championships held in João Pessoa, Brazil from 2 to 6 September.
Brazil’s Andre Loyola Stein & Renato Andrew Lima de Carvalho emerged men’s champions while compatriots Andre Loyola Stein & Renato Andrew Lima de Carvalho settled for silver. The Grimalt cousins, Marco & Esteban, of Chile claimed the bronze medal.
In the women’s competition, Paraguay’s Michelle Sharon Valiente Amarilla & Giuliana Poletti Corrales got the silver medal while their compatriots Fiorella Nunez Quintana & Denisse Alvarez took home the bronze medal.
By winning the men’s tournament, Brazil have also secured a spot at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028. The winners of the 2026 continental championships will earn their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) a quota spot for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
With Volleyball Empowerment support, Brazil’s Andre Loyola Stein & Renato Andrew Lima de Carvalho emerged men’s champions at the 2026 CSV South America Beach Volleyball Championships held in João Pessoa, Brazil. (Photo credits: CSV)
Brazil’s men’s beach volleyball teams are led by the trio of Caio Bruno Lopes da Silva, Marco Antonio Moura Char and Wallace Luis Ferreira Ramos as part of a USD 21,000 Coach Support project. On the other hand, FIVB has invested a total of USD 126,000 in the Coach Support projects in Chile with Brazilian Ramon Ferreira Gomes dos Santos and Chilean Felipe Gomez Badilla taking charge of the senior and junior men’s national teams.
In the all-Brazilian men’s final played on Sunday, Andre Loyola Stein & Renato Andrew Lima de Carvalho swept aside compatriots and top seeds Evandro Gonçalves Oliveira Junior & Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci by 2-0 (21-16, 23-21) to emerge champions.
Gold medalists Andre & Renato had reached the final on a 5-0 win-loss run that included a hard-fought 2-1 (19-21, 21-15, 15-06) victory over the Capogrosso brothers, Nicolas and Tomas, of Argentina in the semifinals. FIVB had invested USD 42,000 in Argentina’s men’s national team under the Volleyball Empowerment Programme.
After stringing together a flawless 4-0 streak from the preliminary round to quarterfinals, Brazil’s Evandro & Arthur Lanci defeated the Grimalt cousins of Chile in straight sets (21-10, 21-18) in the semifinals to qualify for the final where they suffered their only loss in the competition to compatriots Andre & Renato.
Prior to their first and only loss to Brazil’s Evandro & Arthur Lanci, the Grimalts had reached the semifinals on a 4-0 record. They picked themselves up in the third place match, rallying from a set down to defeat the Capogrosso brothers of Argentina by 2-1 (21-123, 21-19, 15-11) and claim the bronze medal.
FIVB has invested a total of USD 273,000 in Paraguay’s women’s beach volleyball programme with Brazilian coach Adriano Garrido and Paulo Madeiros Costas taking charge of their senior and junior teams.
Paraguay’s Michelle Sharon Valiente Amarilla & Giuliana Poletti Corrales had reached the final on a 5-0 streak that included a 2-1 (18-21, 21-14, 15-13) win over Brazil’s Verena Figueira de Oliveira & Thainara Mylena Feitosa de Oliveira in the semifinals.
Their first defeat of the competition arrived in the final after losing by 0-2 (24-26, 07-21) to Brazil’s Thamela Coradello Galil & Victoria Lopes Pereira Tosta who clinched the women’s title unbeaten and without dropping a set. FIVB has approved an investment of USD 21,000 in Coach Support for Brazil’s senior women’s teams.
Paraguay’s Fiorella Nunez Quintana & Denisse Alvarez registered a 4-1 record to qualify for the semifinals where they suffered their second defeat of the competition after losing by 0-2 (19-21, 11-21) to eventual champions Thamela & Victoria of Brazil.
However, Fio & Denisse bounced back in the third place match to claim the bronze medal after edging out Brazil’s Verena & Thainara by 2-1 (18-21, 21-15, 15-08).
