Ludwig reaches into the sand before the Eiffel Tower again
European Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist in 2016, as well as World Champion in 2017: Beach volleyball player Laura Ludwig has experienced and won everything in her career. The two-time mother is starting her fifth and most personal special Summer Games.
When Laura Ludwig embarked on the arduous journey towards her Olympic dream, she had a clear image in mind. The beach volleyball court in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower - and there, on the sidelines, her two sons Teo and Lenny, who were excited with their mother.
"The thought of having both boys on the podium at the Paris Olympic Games was my motivation," the 38-year-old explains. "When I was still playing with my first partner Sara Goller, we had already played near the Eiffel Tower, and I can already imagine how special that will be there."
Ludwig has experienced everything and won everything in her career. Ludwig won gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 together with Kira Walkenhorst. A year later, they became world champions. However, their fifth games will be something special for them, not just because of their family's support.
Ludwig, as a two-time mother, had just returned from her baby break. The Rio Olympic champion was teamed up with Louisa Lippmann at the end of 2022 for "a challenge that was almost impossible," as Ludwig herself admits. Lippmann, a former indoor national player and a newcomer to the sand - both with the common goal of Paris. While it is the fifth games for Ludwig, it is the first Olympic participation for Lippmann.
"Of course, doubts came up, but that we managed to get through all of that as a team makes me proud," Ludwig says. In the one and a half years that Ludwig and Lippmann have played together, they had to grow together, Ludwig states.
The duo starts their Olympic adventure against the Frenchwomen Alexia Richard/Lezana Placette (21.00 hours/Eurosport, ARD as well as in the liveticker at ntv.de) in Group F, where the entire European Championship podium of the previous year is gathered: The third-place finishers Ludwig and Lippmann face the European champions Nina Brunner/Tanja Hüberli (Switzerland) and the silver medalists Daniela Alvarez/Tania Moreno (Spain) in the preliminary round.
"A new time"
Ludwig already lowers expectations in advance: "We have to be realistic that we might not speak of a medal. But we can definitely annoy and beat one or the other opponent."
For Ludwig, there will be no resting on her biggest Olympic triumph. Eight years ago, she won gold in Rio together with Kira Walkenhorst. Even today, there are "still phases where I like to look back on that," Ludwig reveals: "Then the emotions and feelings of happiness come back, you don't forget that. Gold will always be there, gold won't disappear."
But now, Ludwig emphasizes, "it's a new time." And she wants to shape it with Lippmann, who is celebrating her Olympic debut in Paris. Whether the fifth games will also be Ludwig's last games, she remains open: "I don't want to express myself on that yet, because I simply don't know. That has until Paris' time."
During Laura Ludwig's preparation for the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, her two sons served as her motivation, imagining them on the podium alongside her. Apart from the family's support, the Olympic Games in Paris hold personal significance for Ludwig and her new partner Louisa Lippmann as they aim to make their mark on the beach volleyball court near the iconic Eiffel Tower.
