European Beach Championships in Holland

Hörl back in the saddle after missing out on the Olympics

No breather for Julian Hörl (right)

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/APA/EVA MANHART)

After their early exit from the Olympic Games, Julian Hörl from Salzburg and partner Alex Horst are now heading to the European Championships. The beach boys plan to find their old form in the Netherlands.

The big goal has been achieved. Beach volleyball player Julian Hörl competed with partner Alex Horst at the Olympic Games in Paris. Unfortunately without success, all three group matches were lost. Nevertheless, it was an experience for the Saalfelden native: "There were a lot of impressions in Paris, we've already digested the sporting side of things, we didn't have much time for that anyway."

auBecause the Beach Boys are already back in the saddle. The European Championships are on the agenda in the Netherlands (The Hague, Arnhem and Appeldoorn). Last year, they were eliminated in the round of 16, but this year they want to go as far as possible. The Pinzgau native is optimistic: "If we show our beach volleyball, we can beat everyone."

Advancement as the main goal
Because what they didn't achieve at the Olympics is the minimum goal in The Hague: "We don't have an easy group, but we want to make it out of this one. After that, we'll look further."

Nicolai/Cottafava (Italy) are the favorites in their pool, their opening opponents Rotar/Gauthier-Rat from France and the local heroes Sengers/Boehle should be doable for the ÖVV duo. The 32-year-old knows what will be important: "Thinking from game to game and keeping a cool head in crunch time. We've definitely dropped a point or two in the last few weeks."

Three Salzburg players involved
It's also important to keep an eye on the conditions. "I've never been here before, but I've been told that the weather is very special, and you have to watch out for the wind in particular," explains the block player. He is not the only "Stierwoscha" in the Netherlands. In addition to the Pinzgauer, there are also two others at the start. Laurenc Grössig will compete with Mathias Seiser, who is fit again after food poisoning. Florian Schnetzer is changing partners for the Euro tournament and will be partnered by Moritz Kindl.