The German Beach Volleyball Championship 2024 › HL-SPORTS

Ehlers/Wickler in the final against Huster/Wüst. Photo: private

Timmendorfer Strand – The German Championship im Beach volleyball am Timmendorf Beach This year, the tournament again offered high-class games and a fantastic atmosphere. Fans and players experienced a weekend full of sporting highlights, with exciting matches for both the men and women. The focus was particularly on the outstanding duo Ehlers/Wicklerwhich secured the men’s title, as well as the renewed championship of Müller/Tillmann for the women. In addition, the beach volleyball legends Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorstwho ended their brilliant careers. The duo of VSG Lübeck Peemüller/Rietschel showed strong performances and took a respectable 9th place. Next year the tournament will be held again at Timmendorfer Strand – from September 4th to 7th, 2025. Tickets are expected to go on sale this year.Ehlers/Wickler celebrate after the final. Photo: private

Ehlers/Wickler champions for the third time in a row

In the men’s tournament, Jonathan Erdmann and Nejc Zemljak surprisingly made it to the match for third place, despite only being seeded 11th. In the quarterfinals, they achieved a remarkable victory against the second-seeded Sven Winter and his substitute partner. But in the match for third place, they were ultimately defeated by Max Just and Robin Sowa, who secured their place on the podium with a 2-0 win. In the final, the silver medalists from the 2024 Olympics, Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler, dominated proceedings. In a match that was crowned by a spectacular rally with a foot pass from Wickler, they confidently prevailed against Philipp Huster and Lui Wüst with 21:15 and 21:14, thus winning the championship title for the third time in a row.

Farewell and triumph for Ludwig and Müller/Tillmann

In the women’s match for third place, the teams Sandra Ittlinger and Kim van de Velde met Karla Borger and Lea Sophie Kunst. Ittlinger and van de Velde won in two sets with 21:19 and 21:15 and secured the bronze medal. The final was also the farewell match for beach volleyball icon Laura Ludwig. In an emotional duel, the number 1 seeds Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann faced Louisa Lippmann and Ludwig. Müller and Tillmann, the defending champions, won with 21:15 and 21:18 and celebrated their third German championship in a row.Kira Walkenhorst and Laura Ludwig on the lap of honour. Photo: private

Farewell to two legends: Ludwig and Walkenhorst say goodbye

This year’s championship was an emotional highlight for Ludwig and Walkenhorst, as both ended their careers. The duo, who won Olympic gold in 2016 and numerous other titles, were given a fitting farewell. Walkenhorst had to admit defeat earlier in the tournament and ended up in 7th place. The organizers and fans honored the two with a ceremony and a look back at their impressive careers, which the audience acknowledged with a standing ovation.Tilo Rietschel and Richard Peemüller thank you for your support. Photo: private

Peemüller/Rietschel impress with 9th place

The VSG Lübeck duo, Richard Peemüller and Tilo Rietschel, once again put in a strong performance and finished the tournament in 9th place, as they did last year. After narrowly making it into the field of participants, they met the eventual winners Ehlers/Wickler in their first game. Despite a good performance, they lost 0:2. In the second game, however, they impressed with a confident 2:0 victory against the 8th-seeded duo Harms/Harms. The match for 7th place started promisingly for Lübeck with a clear 21:11 victory in the first set, but in the decisive moments of the second set and the tiebreak they lost the game. The disappointment was great, but Peemüller/Rietschel still played three very good games and impressed on the side court in front of many spectators, fan clubs and an outstanding atmosphere.

A bitter aftertaste after so much fame and honour

The organizers once again managed to captivate Timmendorfer Strand and turn the fringe sport into an attractive and commercial event. The TV streams, which were carried out independently, only had problems on the first Thursday of the tournament. However, public interest outside of the beach volleyball bubble was limited. This was mainly due to the fact that free press access was only permitted to a limited extent. External photographers were excluded, but the marketing of photo material was only controlled via the organizers’ own channels. For an event that attracted a lot of attention, especially in the Olympic year, this was certainly a development worth considering. In addition to HL-SPORTS, two other media representatives who accompanied the tournament were also affected. In order to make this interesting sport even more popular, this should definitely be rethought for the coming year.