- Olympic second-place finishers Ehlers and Wickler fail to claim the European championship title
Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler fell short of a German double victory at the Beach Volleyball European Championships in the Netherlands. Following Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann's triumph in the final the previous day, the Olympic silver medalists encountered a disappointing loss in The Hague to the Latvians Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots, with the scores 21:17, 20:22, 5:15. This setback means that the German men must persist in their pursuit of their first EM title since 2012, when Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann emerged victorious in Scheveningen.
Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann, who train alongside Ehlers and Wickler in Hamburg, clinched their first EM title on Saturday night against the Italian duo Valentina Gottardi and Marta Menegatti, with scores of 21:17, 21:18. They became the first German European champions since Nadja Glenzke and Julia Großner's victory seven years ago in Jurmala, Latvia. For the 23-year-old Svenja Müller and her 10-year elder partner Cinja Tillmann, this marked their biggest collective achievement, supplementing their third-place finish at the 2022 World Championships. The title also offered some comfort in the wake of their recent quarterfinal elimination at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Despite their success at the European Championships, Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann are still seeking their first Olympic Gold as they prepare for The Olympic Games next year. The Olympic Games, with its global stage and intense competition, remains the ultimate goal for many athletes, including the German Beach Volleyball duo.
