Ludwig & Walkenhorst presented Germany back-to-back gold medals

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 17, 2016 – Germany now has back-to-back Olympic champions as Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst joined London 2012 men’s gold medal winners Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann in winning “Summer” Games Beach Volleyball titles here early Thursday morning by capturing the women’s finale at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Seeded fourth in the competition, Ludwig and Walkenhorst scored their second-straight win over top-ranked Brazilian pairs by posting a 2-0 (21-18, 21-14) win in 43 minutes over second-seeded Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas in the gold medal match at the 12,000-seat “Coliseu on Copacabana”.

Ludwig and Walkenhorst advanced to the gold medal match Tuesday afternoon with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-12) win in 36 minutes over top-seeded Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca of Brazil.  Agatha and Barbara defeated third-seeded April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings of the United States 2-0 (22-20, 21-18) in the mid-night semi-final match.  The Americans rallied to win the bronze medal late Wednesday with a 2-1 (17-21, 21-17, 15-9) win in 54 minutes over Talita and Larissa. 

For a full preview, visit the match centre. 23:05: Welcome to Copacabana for the women’s beach volleyball final. 55 minutes until the start of the match and to help prepare for the big finale, a legends match is about to start – celebrating the 20 year anniversary of beach volleyball entering the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. 23:10: Here is a list of the players turning back the clock:

WORLD LEGENDS (BLUE)

Sinjin Smith (USA), Randy Stoklos (USA), Jan Kvalheim (NOR), Bjorn Maaseide (NOR), Natalie Cook (AUS), Kerri Pottharst (AUS), Jonas Reckermann (GER) Julius Brink (GER)

BRASIL LEGENDS (GREEN)

Ana Paula, Fernando Marques, Loiola Jose’, Bada’, Tullio, Adriana Samuel, Guilherme Marques, Edoardo Bacil, Monica Rodriguez

23:20: And it’s the World Legends who take the honours winning the encounter 21-13.23:30: Four years after Germany’s Jonas Reckermann and Julius Brink became the first Europeans to win beach volleyball Olympic gold by beating Brazil’s Alison and Emanuel, Ludwig and Walkenhorst have the chance to repeat the feat here in Rio.23:35: Ludwig finished ninth in the Olympic Games in 2008 (Beijing) and fifth in 2012 (London), both with Sara Goller. This is the first Olympics …

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