German Beach Duo misses the Gold Cup
Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers, two Germans, lose the Olympic final in beach volleyball - but win silver. The gold medal goes to the Swedish duo David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig, who triumph in the stadium under the Eiffel Tower with a 2:0 victory.
No Gold in the Sand: Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler missed the big Olympic coup, but they bagged silver under the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Germany's best beach volleyball duo lost to the world number ones David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig from Sweden in a one-sided final with 0:2 (10:21, 13:21), failing to repeat the 2012 triumph of Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann.
In front of an impressive audience of 12,860 spectators, Ehlers/Wickler had their weakest tournament performance in the final. Two days after their semi-final victory against the Norwegian Tokyo Olympic champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, they lacked the strength against the current world's best team. The German duo made too many mistakes, seemed nervous, and had no chance from the start. The Swedes converted their second match ball after just 34 minutes.
However, the first medal for a German men's team in twelve years should quickly console Ehlers/Wickler. In the heart of the French capital, they celebrated the biggest success of their career so far. Ehlers/Wickler played a fantastic tournament and beat all top teams before their victory march was stopped in the final late in the evening.
"Fuck it, we're giving it our all"
The Swedes got off to a better start. With powerful smashes and clever serves, they put pressure on the German duo from the beginning, quickly leading 3:0 and forcing Ehlers/Wickler to take an early timeout at 9:5. "Fuck it, we're giving it our all," Ehlers shouted to his teammate, encouraging him repeatedly.
However, the German team continued to struggle against the strong Swedish defense with superblocker Hellvig. Their own serves also ended up in the net, and the first set was lost after just 17 minutes. "I hope they can now psychologically manage to free themselves and convince themselves: 'Hey, we have nothing to lose here'," said expert Reckermann on ZDF.
This did not happen. Although Ehlers/Wickler initially made the second set more exciting, the crucial points always went to the Swedes. Even the cheers of many German fans did not help.
Nevertheless, the two German world number threes had made their way into the final in Paris unstoppably. Three victories in three group matches were followed, among others, by a statement victory against the world number two George/Andre from Brazil in the round of 16. They also couldn't stop Norway's top duo in the semi-finals, against whom they hadn't won a game before - whereupon Ehlers announced: "Now we're going for gold."
So far, the duo, who have been playing together since the end of 2021, have not been successful in their joint medal hunt at the World and European Championships - and the Paris success story of Ehlers/Wickler also ended in the evening with silver.
Despite their determined efforts in the final, Ehlers and Wickler fell short, missing out on the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris gold. Instead, they celebrated their first medal as a German men's team in twelve years, securing the silver medal.
Regardless of the disappointing final outcome, Ehlers and Wickler had an outstanding tournament, demonstrating their potential and proving their worth on the international stage, showcasing their skills at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris.
