With the A1 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championships 2021 presented by Swatch from 11 to 15 August in Vienna, an era for Austrian and international beach volleyball is coming to an end. After a decade together on the court, the two local heroes Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst will compete together for one last time.
Probably the most successful men’s team in Austrian beach volleyball, the 40-year-old Doppler and the 38-year-old Horst have formed a new team back in 2011 and have since been on the same side of the net in 96 international tournaments.
Their persistence and their great successes have made them the face of Austrian beach volleyball over the past decade. During this time, the two took part in two Olympic Games (London 2012 and Rio 2016) and won 13 international medals, including silver at the 2017 World Cup in Vienna and bronze at the 2014 European Championship.
“We joined forces in autumn 2011 with the aim of qualifying for the Olympic Games via the Continental Cup,” recalls Doppler. “What we have achieved is incredible. We played at the Olympics twice, won medals at the world championships, at the European championships and at three Grand Slams. We fought against the best in the world and made a very good name for ourselves in international volleyball. “
The decision to end such a long and successful partnership resulted from a simple statement: As both Doppler and Horst are nearing the end of their careers, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to compete as a team against young and physically stronger opponents.
“We will soon be 41 and 39 years old and it has become incredibly difficult to keep up with the younger athletes,” said Horst. “I remember that seven years ago we took the then 17-year-old Oleg Stoyanovskiy, who has just won an Olympic silver medal to the training camp as a sparring partner. Mol and Sørum, who just won gold in Tokyo, are 24 and 25 years old. It is very clear that the physical aspect of the game has become increasingly important over the last few years “.
Doppler and Horst’s joint tournament begins on Thursday, their opening game in the Red Bull Beach Arena will kick off at 12:45 against the Czechs Ondrej Perušic and David Schweiner. Their other opponents in Pool B are the Olympic semi-finalists Martins Plavins and Edgards Tocs from Latvia and the Swiss Marco Krattiger and Florian Breer.
“Anything is possible in this group, so we have to focus on one match after another and on one point at a time.” added Horst. “Our pool may not have the biggest names in international beach volleyball, but it still presents us with a difficult task for several reasons.”
Whether victory or defeat, for Doppler and Horst there is an unforgettable farewell in their home town Vienna, when they play their last tournament together in front of their fantastic fans, who have always played a big role in their careers.
“We have the fans behind us and we want to show them good beach volleyball one last time,” said Doppler. “It’s great that we can do that in front of our home crowd. The red-white-red fans carried us into the final at the 2017 World Championships and I can only say: “goosebumps don’t lie”.
News:
A1 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship
ÖVV – Volleyball Austria
