Olympic Games in Paris: “Never gave up”: Beach duo Ehlers and Wickler now fighting for gold

Beach volleyball player Clemens Wickler danced around nervously, waiting for the most important referee decision of his career so far. Shortly after the point for reaching the final and Germany’s chance of winning gold at the Olympics was finally given, he lay in the arms of his partner Nils Ehlers in the sand in front of the Eiffel Tower.

“It’s a huge joy from the bottom of our hearts that comes to the surface, usually with a few tears,” said the 29-year-old Wickler. The first German gold coup in beach volleyball since 2016 is within reach for the duo after winning the Olympic thriller in Paris.

The Hamburg team won their semi-final against Olympic champions Anders Berntsen Mol and Christian Sandlie Sörum from Norway in the spectacular stadium near the Eiffel Tower 21:13, 17:21, 15:13. A net error by the Norwegians brought the match point.

The German team is now guaranteed at least silver. “That was always the goal every day in training,” said an euphoric Ehlers. “It was a long way off. Some people may have smiled a little when we talked about it, but we never gave up.” Immediately after the game, the Hamburg team walked through a line of German fans to the stands to hug their team.

One more day of rest for the Germans

In the final on Saturday evening (10.30 p.m.), the duo will face the winner of the duel between David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig (Sweden) and Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan (Qatar). The Swedes are the tournament’s big favorites after an outstanding season so far. But Ehlers and Wickler have won all six of their games in Paris so far – mostly in impressive fashion.

Before the semi-final, the Hamburg team had one more day’s rest than their Norwegian opponents, who had not lost a set in Paris before, but started somewhat cautiously. There were two service errors.

The Olympic champions are coming back

But strong serves from Wickler and some of Ehlers’ five blocks were part of a run to 13:8 in the first set. The Germans, who had not previously been able to beat Mol/Sörum together, controlled the game. The German reception also made variable attacks possible.

In the second set, the Olympic champions got their chance early and were able to benefit from some German inaccuracies. The Hamburg team came a little closer, but the score was equalized. In the tie-break, the German game was initially too imprecise, but a diagonal ball from Wickler and another Ehlers block brought them a 5:4 lead. In a close set, the Hamburg team had the better end.

Ehlers/Wickler a team since 2022

This means that hopes for the second gold coup for the men after Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann in London in 2012 are greater than ever. In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst won the women’s tournament.

Ehlers/Wickler are about to crown their time together, which began in 2022. The two consistently perform at elite tournaments, but so far they have not managed to make it big. “The curse of fourth places and I am just incredibly happy that we have finally managed to defeat this curse here,” said Ehlers.

Two weeks before the Olympics, at the tournament in Vienna, they narrowly lost in the semifinals to Mol and Sörum after leading in sets. The Norwegians had initially had to take a break in preparation for Paris because Mol had broken his leg, but then traveled to Paris in good form.

No medal for women

In the women’s competition, Germany no longer has a chance of winning a medal. Ludwig and her new partner Louisa Lippmann were eliminated after the preliminary round. Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann lost in the round of 16.