Austrian and Swiss championships declare their winners
04.09.2023 - Bern, Baden
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Bern, Switzerland
In the exciting women's tournament in Switzerland, the reigning European champions Hüberli/Brunner unsurprisingly prevailed for the fifth time in a row and once again demonstrated their dominance on the sand. They defeated the power duo Esmée Böbner and Zoé Vergé-Dépré, whom they had recently beaten in the EuroBeachVolley quarterfinals. Third place went to Joana Mäder and Anouk Vergé-Dépré, who, after their fourth place finish in Vienna, seem to be making a strong comeback.
In the men's competition, the relatively newly formed duo Breer/Krattiger pulled off a surprise by defeating last year's winners Heidrich/Dillier to secure their first national title as a team. While Krattiger last won the championships with his former partner Sébastien Chevallier, this was a first for Breer. Third place went to Yves Haussener and Quentin Métral, with Haussener having formed a team with Breer from 2013 to 2018 and the pair having won the U19 world title in 2014, among other titles.
Baden, Austria
Baden became the hotspot of Austrian beach volleyball in the last two weeks, attracting attention at both the Futures tournament and the Austrian Championships. A true spectacle took place when the Klinger sisters won the gold medal in the women's event in both competitions, and their impressive performance was celebrated by jubilant fans. The women's Futures event was hotly contested, with the Swiss teams Kernen/Niederhauser and Bentele/Lutz securing second and third places, while Katharina Schützenhöfer once again climbed onto the podium at the Austrian Championships. After her victory in 2021 with her regular partner Lena Plesiutschnig, she claimed the silver medal this time with her interim partner Franziska Friedl. The bronze medal deservedly went to the promising young talents Lia Berger and Lilli Hohenauer.
The men's competition of the Austrian Championships saw Robin Seidl and Moritz Pristauz as deserved gold medal winners. Although they had already been eliminated in the quarterfinals at the Futures event, they fought their way to the top in Baden. While Robin Seidl already achieved his fifth state championship title, Moritz Pristauz can call himself Austrian Champion for the first time. Philipp Waller and Martin Ermacora, who had won gold at the Futures event, were again able to shine on the podium and secured the silver medal at the Austrian Championships. The bronze medal went to the up-and-coming duo Hammarberg/Berger. Alex Horst also took the silver medal at the Futures tournament with his temporary partner Timo Hammarberg, who took the place of his regular partner Julian Hörl. The Futures bronze medal went to the German Sagstetter brothers Benedikt and Jonas, who completed the European podium at this international event.
The Austrian Championships were also the last Austrian tournament for beach legend Clemens Doppler, who recently announced his retirement from the sport. He partnered with Thomas Kunert, with whom he made it to ninth place at this event.
