24/08/2014 19:30
Double gold for Germany in Kristiansand
2014 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Kristiansand, Norway, August 24, 2014. German duos Julius Thole/Sven Winter and Leonie Klinke/Lena Ottens are the new Under 18 Beach Volleyball European champions. Both German squads dominated the 2014 CEV U18 European Championship held in the Norwegian city of Kristiansand and were crowned the new upcoming stars of the sport in Europe.
The outstanding display of successful Beach Volleyball by the German delegation in Kristiansand was confirmed after placing three of its four teams in the two Final Fours of the tournament. The last day of competition celebrated in Gimle Sandbaner Sports Center ended with the proclamation of Germany as a great dominator of continental Under 18 Beach Volleyball, since the representatives from the Central European country earned gold in both tournaments.
An exceptional performance, notably in blocking, enabled Germany's Julius Thole and Sven Winter to become the new U18 European champions. The 2.04m tall Thole and 1.96m tall Winter beat Poland’s Maciej Lewicki/Adam Lenc 2-1 (19-21, 21-11, 15-7) in the spectacular final match, a clash which was determined by the resilient fighting spirit of the young Germans. The Polish duo imposed a practical system of playing that caused a momentarily stop in the Germans’ efficiency (21-19). From that first set onwards, Julius Thole created an unbreakable wall over the net that paved the way for a sensational comeback by the Germans. Thole's block and Winter's spikes helped the Under 19 national champions upset their rivals in a convincing second set, and to complete the victory in the resulting tie-break. “It is an unbelievable feeling! I am so happy that we won this game; it was very difficult for us, and we are so lucky that we won at the end”, stated one of the stars of the competition and the most crucial player of the tournament. “Poland had a very good serve, so we had problems in the first set, but then we improved our game and gave everything we had to win. It is my biggest success so far and I am so glad that it happened,” commented the towering athlete. The triumph by Thole/Winter elevates the status of Germany in the tournament, after the bronze medal obtained by Rudolf/Sossenheimer in the 2013 edition of the U18 European Championship.
In the clash for the third position, Spain’s Alejandro Huerta and Oscar Jimenez produced another impressive comeback to beat Dutch side Ruben Penninga/Nikita Artamonov 2-1 (19-21, 21-17, 15-9), so to add a bronze medal to their impressive tally. The 2014 FIVB Under 17 World Championship silver medalists saw how Ruben Penninga’s command over the net in the first period made possible for the Oranjes to take the lead in the game. However, the blocks by Alejandro Huerta and the skilful spikes by Oscar Jimenez fostered the Canarians’ subsequent reaction. A starting 4:0 in the second set gave Spanish duo the required edge to close the period and to force the tie-breaker. In the third stage of the match, Huerta/Jimenez kept their mistakes to a minimum and left her rivals at bay, to put the final 15-9. “We are very happy; we knew it would be hard to get this far in the tournament but today we were able to change the pattern of the match, and after losing the first set, we could turn back the tables to win this bronze”, commented Alejandro Huerta. “We struggled to get into the game, but starting from the second set, we were able to perform at our level, and in the third period, we showed all that what we can do,” stated Oscar Jimenez. The bronze medal for Huerta/Jimenez continues the tradition of honors for the Spanish delegation in under age European tournaments, following the silver medal won by Angela Lobato and Paula Soria in the last edition of the CEV U22 European Championship.
Gold also for German girls
Germany’s Leonie Klinke and Lena Ottens were proclaimed the new Under 18 European champions. The young duo produced an impressive performance to beat Poland’s Aleksandra Stepien/Marta Pietroczuk 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) in a final match dominated from beginning to end by 16-year old Klinke and 17-year old Ottens. The efficiency from the serving line and the outstanding application of the basic principles of Beach Volleyball lead the Under 18 German champions to a convincing victory and to the European crown. “It is amazing!”, exclaimed Leonie Klinke. “Our serve was the reason we won the match; we were quite efficient during all the points and made no mistakes”, commented Klinke, while Lena Ottens added: “And we had so much fun!”. As in the case of their countrymen, Klinke/Ottens' victory represents a step forward in the history of the competition for the country, after the silver medal won by Schneider/Welsch in last year's edition.
In the match for the bronze, Finland’s Ida Sinisalo/Niina Ahtiainen claimed the third place in the podium in a disputed clash against Germany’s Marie Koloseus/Viktoria Seeber 2-0 (21-19, 21-18). The 17-year old Finnish players dominated the game and demonstrated a great association over the sand by means of effective spikes and top receptions, so to propitiate their rivals’ errors that ultimately gave the promising players the bronze trophies. This medal in Kristiansand puts Sinisalo/Ahtiainen in the annals of Finnish Beach Volleyball as the second women team ever to obtain awards at continental under age competitions, after the honors achieved by Emilia and Erika Nyström in 2002 and 2004. “It is so great!”, exclaimed Niina Ahtiainen, while Ida Sinisalo analyzed their performance in the match: “It was not our best game, but we did enough and I am happy for that”. “It means a lot (to win a medal); it is our first time and it is very important. We have to thank our coach for all of this,” added Sinisalo.
The crowning of the new German stars puts a golden end to a thrilling event that has captivated the attention of continental sport by displaying the hopes and dreams of the upcoming figures of European Beach Volleyball, in a superb manifestation of the great level of the younger players in Europe.
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