Olympic champions Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst are the hottest pair in women’s beach volleyball, and the two have decided to ride that momentum through to Tokyo.
In the post-Olympic off-season, beach volleyball goes through a big shuffle, as some players retire, and others look for new avenues to higher peaks. We’ve seen that several times already since Rio:
- Heather Bansley and Sarah Pavan of Canada split prior to the World Tour Finals
- Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Heidrich have teamed up in Switzerland after their partners retired
- Brazil’s Barbara and Fernanda have teamed up, looking for a new Brazilian super-pairing
The Germans have committed to continuing on, however.
In 2016, they won both Olympic gold and then a month later the FIVB World Tour Beach Finals – the FIVB’s major tour championship event.
The two combined to win almost $400,000 in 2016, which pushed the 30-year old Ludwig over the $1,000,000 career earnings mark.
The two matched up after the 2012 Summer Olympics when Ludwig split from then-partner Sara Goller, with whom she went to two Olympic Games (2008 and 2012) but never medaled.
The first big championship to face the Germans in their renewed commitment will be next year when the FIVB takes its World Championships to Vienna, Austria. Ludwig and Walkenhorst have never won a World Championship together, despite having won almost everything else of great consequence.
Leave a Reply