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Kira Walkenhorst (front) with her team partner Louisa Lippmann
Photo: IMAGO/BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Peter Weber / IMAGO/Beautiful Sports
At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Kira Walkenhorst won gold in beach volleyball with Laura Ludwig.
The end of her career followed in 2019 because her body went on strike too often and competitive sports were out of the question.
With her new short-term team partner Louisa Lippmann, she tried to make a comeback at the Beach Volleyball European Championships in Munich and missed the round of 16.
The German duo lost to the Swiss Esmee Böbner/Zoe Vergé-Depré in the intermediate round 0:2 (19:21, 20:22).
Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann, who came third in the World Cup, were also eliminated in the first knockout phase.
Thanks to a wildcard, Walkenhorst played her first international tournament in Munich after her career ended in 2019.
Now she wants to take part in the German championships in two weeks and then decide whether she wants to continue.
For her partner Lippmann it was the first major beach tournament ever.
The former indoor national player had only recently switched to sand and wants to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with Walkenhort's former partner Ludwig.
Three German teams in the round of 16
Müller/Tillmann lost in the intermediate round against Margherita Bianchin/Claudia Scampoli 1:2 (21:12, 19:21, 15:17).
The Italians meet Karla Borger and Julia Sude in the evening (6 p.m.).
In addition to Borger/Sude, two other German women's duos had previously made it straight into the round of 16 as first in their group.
The German champions Chantal Laboureur/Sarah Schulz will play there against Böbner/Vergé-Depré (7 p.m.).
In addition, Sandra Ittlinger/Isabel Schneider are fighting for a place in the quarter-finals (8 p.m.).
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