Beach Volleyball Competitions Kick Off Under Eiffel Tower Despite Heavy Rain

PARIS – It may have been hard to recognize against the blue sky in promotional photos. But even the days of torrential rain that have swamped the 2024 Olympics in Paris couldn’t take the focus off the Games’ most spectacular venue, the Eiffel Tower stadium, which hosted the first beach volleyball event on Saturday.

What makes this temporary venue so visually stunning is also the reason it is weatherproof. Its 11,800 seats are unobstructed by any roof or canopy, so every seat in the venue can see the looming backdrop of the Eiffel Tower.

This also means that everyone is underwater.

Not many people seemed to mind. Even the United States’ defeat to Cuba did not dampen the spirits of the crowd, which was filled with fans proudly cheering the colors of the American flag.

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Miles Bartin and Andy Benesch, the youngest American volleyball duo in U.S. history, lost in straight sets to Nolsen Diaz and Jordi Alayo of Cuba in the opening match of the men’s fourth group. However, the match was much closer than the headlines suggested, with both sets ending in tight scores of 21-18.

“I’m proud of the way we fought, and we’ll be better next time,” Benesh He told the national governing body of his sport: After that, they look forward to their next match against Egypt on Tuesday.

The second match of the day saw the top seeded duo of Sweden, David Ahmann and Jonathan Helwig, defeat Australians Mark Nikolaidis and Isaac Karrasher in the first set.

In the women’s preliminary final of the day, Americans Taryn Kluth and Kristin Nuss defeated Canadians Heather Bansley and Sophie Bokovic.

Australia beat China in the women’s Group B match, and Brazil beat Morocco in the men’s Group D match.

Some spectators unfamiliar with the sport might have assumed that the match would be called off amid heavy rain. After a light downpour in the morning, dark clouds over the Eiffel Tower waited until the match began at 2 p.m. to begin falling heavily.

But it takes more than just a few rain showers to stop the beach volleyball players. Every serve, block or “dig” — where a player somehow manages to keep the ball in play from an opponent’s shot — was met with cheers, boos and applause.

During the break, the crowd, huddled under coats and umbrellas, kept their spirits high with Mexican waves, chants, and hooting, and the unified stomping of the makeshift bleachers.

“We didn’t really know what was going on with all this movement, but we joined in anyway,” said Garrett Graveson, 43, an Atlanta consultant who braved the deluge in his red-and-white suit and tie, red sunglasses and necklace. “We had a lot of fun!”

The days ahead are brighter. The rain is expected to stop on Sunday, and beach volleyball matches will be held here every day until the men’s gold and bronze medal matches on August 10.

The other American duo is Chase Budinger and Miles Evans. Kluth and Nuss, along with hopefuls Kelly Zheng and Sarah Hughes, make up the U.S. women’s team. Zheng and Hughes in particular will be hoping to defend the gold medal won by Alex Klineman and April Ross at Tokyo 2021.

And they’ll do it against one of the most dramatic backdrops in world sport – and hopefully with the sun shining.

“For Americans, we always want tickets to a basketball game, but this is the ticket we wanted this time,” said Blake McCall, 38, who runs spas and hair salons in San Francisco. “Just for the venue and the view of the Eiffel Tower. It’s very special.”