The favorites Julius Thole and Clemens Wickler are on their way to their third joint beach championship in Timmendorfer Strand.
But the goals of the German number one male duo go far beyond the national top position.
After a turbulent two years, Thole / Wickler want to establish themselves sustainably in the world class.
While changes are becoming apparent in other national teams towards the end of the Olympic year, the World Cup runners-up Thole / Wickler are clearly set at the association for the path to the Olympics in Paris in 2024.
“The talks are still pending. But I see few to zero reasons that it is not the case, ”said defender Wickler on Friday. "That looks good," added Thole. "You will remain our figurehead", confirmed Niclas Hildebrand, the sports director of the German Volleyball Association (DVV). Otherwise, the DVV is in the middle of the planning phase for putting together new national duos and coaching teams.
At the Olympic tournament in Tokyo Thole / Wickler were eliminated in the quarter-finals. There will be changes in the duo's environment for the next steps. Jürgen Wagner, who led Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst (2016) as well as Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann (2012) to the Olympic victory, should contribute his know-how more directly. Wagner holds the position of "Head of Beach Volleyball" in the DVV. "We will sit down and position ourselves well for the next few years," announced Wickler. A new national team is to be formed by Nils Ehlers and Sven Winter, who still play with other partners on the Baltic Sea.
For women, the exceptional player Ludwig has at least indicated that she would irritate Paris again in 2024. “Anytime,” said Hildebrand about a possible career extension of the 35-year-old Olympic and world champion - then probably with a new partner in place of Margareta Kozuch. The young block players Svenja Müller and Leonie Körtzinger, who both train at the Hamburg base, could be considered here. Record champion Ludwig is already playing with interim partner Körtzinger at the current 30th German beach volleyball championship - and with two wins she made it straight to the quarter-finals.
"I'm still up for the sport," said Ludwig, who has won the national championship seven times in addition to the 2016 Olympic victory in Rio, the 2017 World Cup in Vienna and four European Championship titles.
After Ludwig / Kozuch took fifth place at the Olympic Games, there had been speculation about their sporting future.
"In any case, I will not announce my resignation here," she said on Timmendorfer Strand.
Three teams and one perspective team per gender as well as six trainers are to start their way to the Olympics in three years at the Hamburg performance center.
But there will also be opportunities for teams outside Hamburg, noted Hildebrand.
To this end, a series of talks are being held on the fringes of the championships.
There should be clarity by the end of September, also with regard to the financial resources.
Thole / Wickler initially want their third joint national title after 2018 and 2020. In the first tournament game, they clearly beat the Berlin duo Lucas Mäurer and Niklas Rudolf 2-0 (21:17, 21:14). With another smooth 2-0 (21:15, 21:14) against the brothers Georg and Peter Wolf (Frankfurt / Main), the defending champions moved directly into the quarter-finals.