Stavanger, Norway, June 28, 2009 - Led by Dmitri Barsouk and Igor Kolodinsky of Russia, five men's teams scored Beach Volleyball wins here Sunday at the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships presented by ConocoPhillips to assume pool leadership positions.

The ninth-seeded Barsouk and Kolodinsky scored a 21-18 and 21-18 victory in 42 minutes over 33rd-seeded Renato "Geor" Gomes and Jorge "Gia" Terceiro of Georgia to clinch a Pool I spot in next Thursday's opening elimination rounds along with two pairs each from Brazil and Germany, and one each from Austria and Norway.

German teams on the top 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships pools are third-seeded Julius Brink/Jonas Reckermann (Pool C) and 18th-seeded Sebastian Dollinger/Mischa Urbatzka (Pool G). Vegard Hoidalen and Jorre Kjemperud are the sole Pool K leaders as the Norwegians delighted the Vaagen Harbour centre court crowd with a 21-14 and 21-18 win in 42 minutes over 38th-seeded Lauris Iecelnieks and Martins Plavins of Latvia.

Fifth-seeded Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos, the 2003 world champions, 2004 Olympic gold medalists and five-time winners of SWATCH FIVB World Tour events in Norway, are the Pool E winners after defeating a Danish team Sunday for their second win of the competition.

Top-seeded Alison Cerutti and Harley Marques of Brazil are tied for the top of the Pool A standings with Austrians Florian Gosch and Alexander Horst. After the 24th-seeded Austrians defeated a Norwegian pair Sunday, Alison and Harley netted their second win of the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships by defeating a team from Germany.

The 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships also features a 48-team women's competition as Stavanger hosts a SWATCH FIVB World Tour event for the 11th-straight season. With three days of pool play remaining, the 32-team single-elimination brackets for men and women begin next Thursday for the US$1-million event.