Hamburg, Germany, August 15, 2020 – The third leg of the German Beach Volleyball Tour started on Friday in Hamburg with a matchup a lot of fans were looking forward to as reigning Olympic champions Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst were opponents for the first time since they ended their successful partnership.
Both players took a break from the sport in 2018 after winning the Rio 2016 Olympics and the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Vienna, and Ludwig had a successful return last season as she won the 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals in Rome with new partner Margareta Kozuch.
Walkenhorst, on the other hand, has struggled with physical issues and repeatedly postponed her comeback. She returned in great style two weeks ago at the second leg of the German Tour, when she qualified for the German Championship on her first attempt with new partner Anna-Lena Grune.
The reigning Olympic champions met in the opening match of the tournament, just three days before the fourth anniversary of their Olympic victory in Rio de Janeiro, and Walkenhorst and Grune emerged victorious after a hard-fought 2-1 (21-18, 21-23, 18-16) battle.
“We went into the match with no expectations,” Walkenhorst said. “We had played only three matches together before this one and we honestly didn’t know we could play at this level. I felt really good physically, with no pain at all, and that’s also great.”
The victory was also a remarkable one for the 18-year-old Grune, who shared her feelings after the triumph.
“Kira and Laura are my two role models as an athlete,” she commented. “And to be playing with one of them and to get to defeat the other, it can’t get any better than this.”
The teams had different results in the second round as Walkenhorst and Grune lost to Swiss Esmee Bobner and Zoe Vergé-Dépré 2-1 (21-19, 17-21, 13-15) while Ludwig and Kozuch defeated Melanie Gernert and Elena Kiesling by forfeit.
The duos have advanced to the Round of 16 of the tournament, where Walkenhorst and Grune will face Poland’s Katarzyna Kociolek and Agata Ceynowa and Ludwig and Kozuch will play against Lisa-Sophie Kotzan and Natascha Nyemczyk on Saturday.