The A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley presented by Swatch, from August 11-15, in Vienna, will be the last opportunity for beach volleyball fans from around the world to see one of the greatest European players of all time in action as Dutch defender Marleen van Iersel is saying goodbye to the sport.
At the age of 33, Van Iersel has decided to finish her career at the end of the 2021 season and the event at the Austrian capital will be her final stop when it comes to an official beach volleyball tournament – she will still appear in the ‘side out style’ King of the Court event in Utrecht, the Netherlands, at the end of August.
The decision, Marleen says, was a well-thought one and was made with her family in mind. After 20 years dedicating her life to the sport, the veteran thinks it’s time to spend more time with her wife Myrthe Ramond and their son Julian in Tenerife, where they live.
“I’ve been doing this for such a long time,” she said about the decision to retire. “Beach volleyball has been guiding my decisions for the last 20 years and after so long, things are different now. I don’t have as much fun in training as I used to and the part of ‘putting everything else aside’ has become more and more difficult. My son is about to turn four and now he understands and gets sad when I’m away, which makes it really hard for me to be on the road so much.”
Her farewell was nearly anticipated when then-partner Joy Stubbe ended their partnership to become a mother at the end of 2020, but Van Iersel kept playing for another year with Pleun Ypma, who will be her partner in her final tournament in Vienna.
“This season has been kind of a bonus for me,” the defender added. “When Joy quit last year, I almost did the same but I was fortunate to find a great partner in Ypma, who was willing to be by my side for this last adventure. We agreed to give our best in every match we played but above anything to have a lot of fun this year and the plan is to do the same in Vienna.”
Van Iersel will leave the sand as one of the most accomplished beach volleyball players in Europe. Competing internationally since 2005, she represented the Netherlands in both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, won a pair of World Tour gold medals in 2011 and became a U-21 world champion in 2008.
Her list of achievements in the sport also includes a pair of victories at the EuroBeachVolley – in 2012, with Sanne Keizer, in home sand the Hague, and in 2014, with Madelein Meppelink, in Cagliari, Italy.
“I’m really proud of the career I built,” she reflected. “This sport has brought me so much. I got to compete at the highest level, to see beautiful places around the world and to know amazing people who will be my friends for life. Some of my favorite memories include competing in my first Olympics, in London, and winning the EuroBeachVolley for the first time.”
