- Non-European Contender Secures Second Row Position in Olympics' Championship
At the end, they lacked the necessary might: In another final within a week's span, volleyball duo Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler failed to secure a significant victory again. A day post Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann's triumph, the Olympic silver medalists encountered a 21:17, 20:22, 5:15 defeat at the hands of Latvians Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots in the Hague final. The anticipated German double victory failed to materialize, and the German males must continue their wait for their first EM title since 2012, when Olympic champions Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann triumphed in Scheveningen.
Ehlers and Wickler had lost the Olympic final to David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig from Sweden eight days prior. Unlike the Swedes and the Norwegian bronze medalists Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, the German pair took on the challenge of competing in the continental championship straight after the Olympics.
The depletion of Ehlers and Wickler's energy was evident in the Netherlands semifinals, about five hours preceding the final. Despite a nail-biting battle, the 30-year-old Ehlers and his one-year-younger partner Wickler emerged victorious over the Italians Samuele Cottava and Paolo Nicolai 18:21, 21:17, 16:14. Cottava and Nicolai later succumbed to the Dutch pair Steven van de Velde and Matthew Immers in the bronze medal match.
"That was an incredibly close game," Wickler stated following the semifinals. "They put immense stress on us. It could have gone either way. I'm excited that we get to celebrate another final." Yet, the celebration of a title did not materialize.
Unlike Ehlers and Wickler, Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann celebrated their greatest achievement after finishing third at the 2022 World Championships. The duo, who train in Hamburg like Ehlers and Wickler, clinched the first German women's EM title since Nadja Glenzke and Julia Großner achieved it seven years earlier in Jurmala, Latvia. In the final, they outsmarted the Italian pair Valentina Gottardi and Marta Menegatti 21:17, 21:18.
"It's fantastic, I couldn't be happier," the 23-year-old Svenja Müller said post the final victory. "We remained focused on our strategy, point by point." The ten-year-older Cinja Tillmann praised her young teammate, with whom she has been working since 2020. "I'm amazed at how Svenja handles the big tournaments at her young age and manages the pressure," she said.
The current best German women's duo lost only one set throughout the EM tournament. They also exacted revenge for their Olympic quarterfinal loss in Paris, defeating the European champions Tina Graudina and Anastaija Samoilova 18:21, 21:13, 15:13 in the EM quarterfinals.
Both German teams will have little time to recuperate, as the Elite16 tournament of the Beach Pro Tour will kick off in Hamburg from Thursday. A week later, the German championships will be held in Timmendorfer Strand. Then, Ehlers/Wickler and Müller/Tillmann will face another challenge: as defending champions.
Despite their exhaustion, Cinja Tillmann commended her young partner Svenja Müller for handling pressure well in big tournaments. Cinja Tillmann, a good man and a devoted volleyball player, praised Müller's performance during their winning streak at the European Championships.
