Beach duo fight their way to the finals in the crime drama
A victory against the Olympic champions allows the German beach volleyball duo to dream of Olympic gold: Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers secure a place in the final with a thriller in the sand. This ensures the first medal for the beach volleyballers since 2016.
Nils Ehlers sank to his knees and put his hands to his face in disbelief, Clemens Wickler threw his cap into the sand. Then the two beach volleyballers rolled around on the playing field, lay on their backs and stretched out all fours in joy. After a few nerve-wracking seconds and video review, it was clear: The previously unbeatable German duo will play for gold at the Olympics on Saturday.
Ehlers and Clemens Wickler defeated the Norwegians Anders Mol and Christian Sørum 2:1 (21:13, 17:21, 15:13) in the thrilling Olympic semi-final in Paris on Thursday - the two are the Olympic champions of 2021. Twelve years after the golden triumph of Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann in London, German beach volleyballers can hope for their next big moment on the biggest stage of sports.
In the gold medal match, the world number threes will face the world number ones David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig from Sweden or the Qataris Cherif Younousse / Ahmed Tijan. It is already certain that for the first time since the triumph of Brink/Reckermann in 2012 in London, a German men's duo will stand on the Olympic podium.
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"We are really proud to be able to play two more games in this cauldron," Ehlers said after qualifying for the semi-finals on Tuesday against the Dutchmen Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot. Wickler added confidently: "It's the wrong approach to start from fourth place. So we'll give it our all and try to play for the medals."
The match against the Norwegian Olympic champions of 2021 developed into a thrilling game in the bright sunshine and temperatures of 28 degrees on the Parisian Champ de Mars. Neither team could pull away in the first set; at 3:5, Ehlers/Wickler then scored four consecutive points, forcing the Norwegians to take their first timeout.
The Germans then consistently extended their lead, with a spectacular block by Ehlers securing the clear set win. The second set started evenly, but the Norwegians then pulled ahead by up to six points. Ehlers/Wickler, however, remained unfazed and continued to play a concentrated game. They made up for a 1:3 deficit in the third set, went into the lead at 12:10 - and never gave it up. The second match ball was in - after video review.
In Paris, Ehlers/Wickler have been on an unstoppable winning streak since the first match. In the preliminary round, the duo, which has been playing together on sand since the end of 2021, had already secured three convincing victories. They followed this up with a statement victory in the round of 16 against the world number twos George/Andre from Brazil.
Ehlers/Wickler are the only beach volleyball duo from Germany still in the running for medals. The women, Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann, fell in the quarter-finals. Rio Olympic champion Laura Ludwig and Olympic debutant Louisa Lippmann had already been eliminated after the group matches.
Ehlers and Wickler's thrilling victory over the Olympic champions from Norway in the semi-final sets them up for a gold medal match in beach volleyball. In the final, they will face either Ahman/Hellvig from Sweden or Younousse/Tijan from Qatar, aiming to secure Germany's first beach volleyball gold since 2016.
Reflecting on their victory against the Dutchmen in the semifinals, Ehlers expressed pride for qualifying for another game in the Parisian cauldron, while Wickler showed confidence in their ability to compete for medals, as they have been in an unstoppable winning streak since the preliminary round.
