Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sørum have successfully defended their men's title at the FIVB Beach World Tour event in Gstaad ©FIVB

Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sørum beat the Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen today to claim a second straight men’s title at the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Beach World Tour event in Gstaad in Switzerland.

The top seeds became the first men's team since 2006 to win back-to-back crowns with a 21-17, 21-15 triumph at the Eisbahnareal venue.

Victory secured them their eighth Beach World Tour gold medal with their first FIVB crown having arrived in Gstaad nearly a year ago to the day.

Mol and Sørum had defeated Brazil’s Evandro Gonçalves Oliveira Júnior and Bruno Oscar Schmidt 21-18, 21-14 in the semi-finals.

That was Mol and Sørum's 100th FIVB win and they became the fourth-fastest men's team to reach the century match mark, in just 124 Beach World Tour starts. 

Brazil's Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos, the last men’s team to win back-to-back Gstaad titles, reached 100 victories in 119 matches.

Compatriots Márcio Araújo and Benjamin Insfran accomplished the feat in 124 matches, as did the United States' Philip Dalhausser and Nicholas Lucena.

Today's other last-four encounter saw Brouwer and Meeuwsen overcome Italy’s Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai 21-17, 21-15.

Brazil's Maria Antonelli, left, and Carolina Solberg Salgado booked their place in the women's semi-finals ©FIVB
Brazil's Maria Antonelli, left, and Carolina Solberg Salgado booked their place in the women's semi-finals ©FIVB

Gonçalves Oliveira Júnior and Oscar Schmidt proved too strong for Lupo and Nicolai in the bronze medal match, battling back to prevail 16-21, 21-17, 15-12.

Also decided today was the line-up for the women's semi-finals.

Among those advancing to the penultimate round were third-seeded Americans Alexandra Klineman and April Ross, who beat compatriots Brooke Sweat and Kerri Walsh Jennings 21-17, 21-13. 

It secures them a place in the semi-finals of a FIVB World Tour event for the second straight week after claiming the silver medal at the FIVB Beach World Championships in Hamburg in Germany.

Next up for Klineman and Ross are top-seeded Swiss pairing Nina Betschart and Tanja Hüberli after they defeated Slovakia's Natalia Dubovcova and Andrea Strbova 14-21, 21-18, 15-9.

The other semi-final is an all-Brazilian clash between 15th-seeded qualifiers Maria Antonelli and Carolina Solberg Salgado and fifth-seeded Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Rebecca Cavalcanti Barbosa Silva.

Antonelli and Solberg Salgado overcame ninth seeds and reigning European champions Sanne Keizer and Madelein Meppelink of the Netherlands 21-19, 21-19, while Silva Ramos and Silva registered a 21-14, 18-21, 15-9 victory over second seeds and defending champions Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan of Canada.

The women's event is due to conclude tomorrow, with the third-place playoff and final immediately following the semi-finals.