GERMANY WIN TWO GOLD

At the European Under 23 Beach Volleyball Championships, which took place from 16-19 August 2007 in Paralimni (CYP), Germany claimed the titles in both gender events with Sebastian Fuchs/Thomas Kaczmarek beating Spain’s Francisco Gavira/Adrian Marco 2:0 and Frederike Fischer/Jana Köhler overthrowing Czech duo Jana Goliasova/Eva Weissova 2:0.

In the boys’ category, Fuchs/Kaczmarek lost only one match on their way to the final win, namely in the third round facing the later Russian bronze medallists Yaroslav Koshkarev/Sergey Prokopiev (0:2). Whilst the Germans won their semifinal in straight sets over Poles Tomasz Sinczak/Rafal Szternel, the Russians lost their semifinal tiebreak against Gavira/Marco (ESP) 10-15. In the final, Fuchs/Kaczmarek, who seized the bronze medal at the 2005 Under-20 European Beach Volleyball Championships in Tel Aviv (ISR), left the Spanish opponents with little chance (21-17, 21-16).

In the girls' competition, Germany’s Fischer/Köhler fought their way to the title, winning all of their eight matches, including a straight-set victory over their compatriots Claudia Lehmann and 2006 Under 20 European Beach Volleyball Champion Julia Sude. German head coach Jörg Ahmann was more than content, stating: "I honestly didn't expect this great result. The girls as well as the boys performed very strong. I think we were better prepared than others regarding the heat with temperatures of 40°C." The girls' silver went to Czechs Goliasova/Weissova, whilst Dutch Kim Renkema/Margo Wiltens claimed their second European bronze medal after having also finishing third at the 2006 Under 20 European Beach Volleyball Championships.