Alexander Horst:

“It’s the reason why I play beach volleyball”

Alexander Horst is looking forward to the tournament at Vienna's Heumarkt.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

"Vienna, or formerly Klagenfurt, is simply the reason why I play beach volleyball," says ÖVV veteran Alex Horst, looking forward to the upcoming tournament at Vienna's Heumarkt. The world's best beach volleyball players will be letting off steam in Austria's most atmospheric "sandbox" from Tuesday.

For the top teams, the Elite 16 event of the ProTour is not only about a form check just before the Olympics, but also about 300,000 dollars (280,000 euros) in prize money. From a red-white-red perspective, the Klinger sisters and Julian Hörl/Alexander Horst will be competing in the main event via wildcard, while other ÖVV duos will be competing in the qualifiers.

4,000 fans fit into the pop-up stadium in Vienna's city center and provide the atmosphere for which the tournament organized by Hannes Jagerhofer is famous. The field of participants is top-class, with eight teams from the top ten in the men's world rankings taking part in the Olympic dress rehearsal, and three out of ten in the women's field. The men's field is led by the top seeded Brazilians George/Andre ahead of the Norwegian Olympic champions Anders Mol/Christian Sörum. The big absentees are world number one David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig, who won the European Championship title on the Danube Island last year, and the world champions Ondrej Perusic/David Schweiner.

With the fans behind me, I know from years of experience that a lot is possible. Vienna, or Klagenfurt in the past, is simply the reason why I play beach volleyball.

Alex Horst

In the women's tournament, Latvia's Anastasija Samoilova/Tina Graudina (ranked 9th in the world) are at the top of the seeding list after last year's European champions Tanja Hüberli/Nina Brunner from Switzerland and Brazil's Duda/Ana Patricia withdrew at short notice.

"An elite tournament is always extremely difficult, with the best 16 in the world in the main competition at the end. Anyone can beat anyone," said veteran Horst. At the home tournament, the 41-year-old is once again relying on support from the stands. "With the fans behind me, I know from years of experience that a lot is possible. Vienna, or Klagenfurt in the past, is simply the reason why I play beach volleyball." Hörl/Horst finished ninth at last year's European Championships in Vienna.

"Huge" anticipation for the Olympics
This year, the tournament, which is packed with top teams, will serve as optimal preparation for the Olympic Games. Hörl/Horst will be the only duo representing Austria at the beach volleyball competitions in Paris, which begin at the end of July. "This is the greatest thing you can achieve as an athlete. The anticipation is huge," said Horst, who is taking part in the Olympic Games for the fourth time. Partner Hörl is a debutant.

Dorina and Ronja Klinger, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on their Olympic goal. The strenuous qualifying tour left its mark on the sisters, with Ronja in particular struggling with bronchitis and the resulting pleurisy. This is why the Klingers also canceled the home tournament in Baden at the end of June. "My body said: you need a break. I've spent the last two weeks focusing on my regeneration and health," explained Ronja Klinger.

However, she is now fully fit again and is looking forward to competing in Vienna in good health. "We know it's the greatest tournament in the world. It's not just us who say that, the Brazilians and the Americans say that too. We will be able to perform in a cauldron," said the 1.78 m tall defender. The Klingers have only made it into the main draw of an Elite 16 tournament once before, so expectations are "not super high". Ronja Klinger's stated goal: "To win a game and develop further."

Tim Berger (left) and Timo Hammarberg have to fight their way through qualifying.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Qualifying for Berger/Hammarberg
Katharina Schützenhöfer/Lena Plesiutschnig, Mathias Seiser/Philipp Waller, Robin Seidl/Laurenz Leitner and Timo Hammarberg/Tim Berger will battle for a place in the main draw in the qualifiers on Tuesday and Wednesday. The pool matches will take place from Wednesday to Friday. The group winners will advance directly to the quarter-finals, while the runners-up and third-placed teams will play in an intermediate round for the remaining four places in the knockout phase. The semi-finals and the women's final will take place on Saturday, while the men's final will be played on Sunday.