04/06/2016 23:41
Czech sensation prevents all-German final, Ludwig secures record ninth European Championship medal
2016 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Final
Biel / Bienne, Switzerland, June 4, 2016. Marketa Slukova (pictured) and Barbora Hermannova surely are the major sensation of the 2016 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final. On Sunday the Czechs will be trying to add one more chapter to their fairy tale playing Germany’s top-seeded Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst for the continental crown and the fictional title of Europe’s ‘Queens of the Beach’. In the semis Slukova/Hermannova edged Karla Borger/Britta Büthe 21-13, 21-14 to prevent an all-German final after Ludwig and Walkenhorst had previously claimed the remake of the 2015 gold medal match with Russia’s Ekaterina Birlova/Evgenia Ukolova (21-15, 21-16).
The 2016 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final is being extensively covered on the CEV website (click here) as well as on all CEV social media pages; a comprehensive live gallery of the competition is available here while additional information can be found on the organisers’ website www.beacheuro2016.ch.
Though their partnership has been lasting for less than one year, it looks like Slukova and Hermannova did the right thing when they teamed up last summer after parting ways with their previous partners – Kristyna Kolocova and Martina Bonnerova, respectively. They won gold at last year’s FIVB Antalya Open and this week they have marched from triumph to triumph while competing in Biel / Bienne.
Their last breakthrough came on Saturday night when they stamped a compelling 21-13, 21-14 victory over third-seeded Borger/Büthe to progress to the ‘grand finale’ of the tournament. Slukova and Hermannova will be trying to repeat what was achieved by their countrywomen Eva Celbova and Sona Novakova who were crowned European champions in 1996 and 1998 – the only Czech players to have achieved this feat since Europe’s premier Beach Volleyball competition was established back in 1994.
The next stop of this fabulous campaign will follow on Sunday when they play reigning European champions Ludwig and Walkenhorst in the final. “We have already made it much further than we expected and could have hoped, so tomorrow we will be playing with no pressure and just try to enjoy the game,” Barbora Hermannova said.
The Czechs have been ‘adopted’ by the Swiss crowd and once again on Saturday night they were passionately supported by the audience in Biel / Bienne. “I would like to thank everyone for their support,” Slukova said when addressing the spectators, “you have been cheering us on with so much passion, we are just overwhelmed. It is an amazing feeling and frankly speaking I do not fully realise what we have done. I would like to praise Barbora for her superb performance in this semi-final, she played just great and scored an amazing number of points.”
Their opponents in the ‘grand finale’ of the EuroBeachVolley, Ludwig and Walkenhorst, also stamped a speedy victory in their semi-final with Birlova and Ukolova. There was almost no match with the Germans leading the way from start to end. As a result, Ludwig has already secured her ninth European Championship medal – an all-time record in the sport. On Sunday Ludwig and Walkenhorst will be trying to win back-to-back titles – a feat which has been only achieved by Italy’s Laura Bruschini and Annamaria Solazzi in 1999 and 2000. Ludwig will be chasing her fourth European crown since next to the title she won last year in Klagenfurt with Walkenhorst she stood on top of the podium also in 2008 and 2010 with her former partner Sara Goller.
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