The beach volleyball vice world champions Julius Thole and Clemens Wickler, like Olympic champions Laura Ludwig and Margareta Kozuch, were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Olympics and finished fifth.
In a new edition of the World Cup final two years ago, the duo from Hamburg was clearly defeated by the world champions Vyacheslav Krasilnikow and Oleg Stojanowski on Wednesday 0-2 (16:21, 19:21).
“We didn't quite get close to our maximum performance.
It hurts of course, ”said Thole.
For the first time since 2008 there is no medal in beach volleyball for the German Volleyball Association. In 2012 Julius Brink / Jonas Reckermann won gold in London, five years ago in Rio, Ludwig and her then partner Kira Walkenhorst were successful in the final.
Thole / Wickler and Krasilnikow / Stojanowski had faced each other once again since the World Cup final, and at the tournament in Rome there was a defeat as in the three previous duels. Knowing about the 0: 4 balance, Wickler had feared nervousness again in advance - a 2: 0 at the start did well. The German duo could not hold their lead for long and fell three points behind for the first time at 6: 9. Apparently unimpressed, Thole / Wickler worked their way back. The sentence ran at eye level before the Russians pulled away at 15:19 and closed the sack a little later.
The world champions were cheered on again and again in the largely empty stadium by some people in the media gallery. The clapping for good actions by the German duo from the supervisor area, on the other hand, seemed restrained for a long time. Only calls from Olympic champion Laura Ludwig, who watched a day after her own end, could be heard well before others around DOSB President Alfons Hörmann became more emotional.
In round two it was also the size of the opponents and the sharpness of the balls that cost Thole / Wickler points. In the doggedly led duel, both teams set challenges early on and really tried to use all possibilities. With nine aces in the previous games, Wickler went into the game as the most dangerous server remaining in the tournament, but was unable to use this weapon for a long time. The point at 12:10, on the other hand, was already the third ace of the two Russians. When Wickler threw the ball just outside, it was 12:15 and the pressure increased. Thole / Wickler took more risks and were back at 18:18 - but were not rewarded.