When Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers had their medals hanging around their necks, their anger over the missed gold opportunity faded into the background.
All the frustration that had previously been released in front of the TV cameras was forgotten for a few moments. Even a smile crossed the faces of Germany’s beach volleyball players before Wickler tenderly kissed his silver medal and Ehlers bit his precious metal for the photo.
The bottom line is that they “really played an incredibly great tournament,” said Ehlers after the award ceremony: “We exceeded our own expectations in every game, grew even closer together, and triggered a huge wave of euphoria in Germany for beach volleyball.” Nevertheless, they are still “very, very low” emotionally in this “roller coaster of emotions.”
Ehlers/Wickler actually needed a while to get their disappointment under control. Even the “Ehlers, Wickler” chants in the stadium couldn’t really brighten their faces after the one-sided final; they had no chance in the 0:2 defeat against the world number one David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig from Sweden.
“We couldn’t get into the game at all and unfortunately played our worst game of the season in the final. That hurts unbelievably,” said Ehlers. Not performing as usual was “very, very disappointing and really knocks you down.” On the court, it “felt extremely crappy,” said Wickler.
But the first medal win by a German men’s team since Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann won gold in London twelve years ago should soon console Ehlers/Wickler. In the heart of the French capital, the two celebrated the greatest success of their careers to date. Ehlers/Wickler played a fantastic tournament and beat all the top teams before their winning streak was stopped in the final late on Saturday evening.
The top German duo doesn’t have much time to let the wild days in Paris sink in. The European Championships in the Netherlands (13th to 18th August) start on Tuesday. “We are going into the next training sessions and the next tournament with incredible motivation,” said Ehlers. The Olympics and the final were a “huge learning experience”.
Source: www.sport.de
