Before the quarter-finals, nerves played a big role for beach volleyball players Ehlers and Wickler. Once again, there was little sign of this on the court.
With a lot of nervousness until the gold medal: For the beach volleyball duo Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler, this seems to be the recipe for success at the Olympics in Paris. “We were both extremely nervous. At least that’s what Nils just said. I didn’t see it like that on the field,” said Wickler after their confident semi-final entry.
And the 29-year-old obviously had enough of himself under control for a comfortable victory of 22:20, 21:15 against the Dutch Stefan Boermans/Yorick de Groot. It was the fifth victory in the fifth game in the stadium under the Eiffel Tower.
The Hamburg duo has raised hopes of winning the men’s gold medal for the second time after Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann won in London in 2012. In the semifinals on Thursday they will face the winner of the match between Pablo Herrera Allepuz/Adrián Gavira Collado (Spain) and Anders Berntsen Mol/Christian Sandlie Sörum (Norway). The Germans will avoid the big favorites David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig from Sweden until the possible final.
Nerves also play a role for Ehlers
Wickler, Germany’s long-standing beach volleyball player of the year, finished fifth in Tokyo in 2021 together with Julius Thole. These are Ehlers’ first games. His nerves were an issue after winning the opening match. He was “more nervous than ever” – and then delivered a whopping nine block points. “That’s also a nice connection,” said the 2.11-meter man.
The Berlin native seems to be making leaps from game to game at the Olympics. Not only in the block, but also with intelligent shots into the backcourt. “We haven’t just sat around for the last two years, we’ve been working on exactly that,” he said after one of the games in Paris.
It fits between Ehlers and Wickler
The two, who have been playing together since 2022, consistently perform at elite tournaments, but it has not yet been enough to make it big. Two weeks before the Olympics at the tournament in Vienna, they narrowly failed in the semifinals after leading a set against Norwegian Olympic champions Mol and Sorum, who could now be waiting in the semifinals.
The chemistry between the Germans is obvious. They also pass the ball to each other during interviews and tease each other with little jokes. Communication on the field has been a focus in recent years and is a key to success. “We tell each other openly what is going on inside us, even if something about our partner annoys us or we are nervous,” says Wickler.
Such an honest conversation led to a small course correction shortly before Paris. The extremely ambitious goal of a medal for 2022 was trimmed somewhat. “Because it triggered too much pressure, too much nervousness,” said Ehlers. So it all depends on the measure. That’s how the coup could work.
Wickler will not miss one ritual before the semi-finals: eating with the family. He always eats penne bolognese. And then the good nervousness sets in again.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
