Wien – After the big Olympic disappointment in Tokyo’s Shiokaze Park, the summer ended in a conciliatory way for Karla Borger and Julia Sude. “We are very proud of ourselves. After the Olympics we talked about whether we should play here at all, but we showed that we are good players, ”said Karla Borger after winning the bronze medal at the European Beach Volleyball Championships in Vienna. The Düsseldorf duo defeated Anastasija Kravcenoka and Tina Graudina from Latvia 2-1 in the small final on Saturday.
In order to capture the moment of victory, Karla Borger took a selfie in which she raised her fist and screamed her joy, she tagged the photo on the social network with the hashtag #radikarla, among other things. With their first joint international medal, the Borger / Sude duo provided the German highlight at the European Championships in the Austrian capital.
Change of mood for Borger / Sude in Vienna
The mood was still in the basement two and a half weeks ago: the end in the preliminary round after three defeats at the Olympics, all the preparation, the privations – in vain. Borger then let out her frustration and asked himself on Twitter, “What did you do all this for?” Now the two beach volleyball players are happy that they have decided to participate in the European Championship.
Although Germany remains by far the most successful nation among women after its 24th European Championship medal (8x gold, 7x silver, 9x bronze), it was not enough for the title. Because Borger / Sude failed, despite several match points in the semifinals, just 1: 2 to the later European champions Nina Betschart and Tanja Hüberli from Switzerland. “It’s been a long time since I was so down after losing a semi-final,” said Borger: “That’s why the medal means a lot to us, also emotionally.”
Ludwig / Kozuch cancel start at short notice
While Borger / Sude were there after their disappointing qualifying round in Tokyo in Austria and were rewarded with bronze, the German top duo Laura Ludwig / Margareta Kozuch was missing. The Olympic Fifth had canceled their start at short notice. “After the climax and the exhausting matches in Tokyo, we first have to recharge the batteries,” said Ludwig from Berlin one day before the start of the tournament.
In the men’s category, Nils Ehlers and Simon Pfretzschner were the last German duo to be eliminated in the quarter-finals on Saturday evening. The team from Hamburg and Dachau were defeated by the Dutch Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen in the match for the semi-finals with 1: 2. The world championship second and Olympic fifth Julius Thole and Clemens Wickler from Hamburg had already been eliminated in the round of 16.