In a boundary-pushing beach volleyball battle, the two World Championship-bound pairs go head-to-head on the famous River Elbe, their unique pontoon court filled with 75 tonnes of sand floating majestically in the shadow of Hamburg’s world famous Elbphilharmonie concert house.
Reigning World and Olympic champion Laura and new teammate Maggie harbor hopes of impressing their legion of German fans on home sand when they return to the Rothenbaum Stadium.
Meanwhile, Czech stars Markéta and Barbora are seeking to turn silver into gold this year after finishing runners-up at last season’s Hamburg World Tour Finals.
However, both teams will have a fight to get their hands on the title, a share of one million US Dollars in prize money and a ticket to Tokyo 2020, as 48 teams per gender drop anchor in Hamburg to compete in what will be the biggest World Championships in history.
Talking after the shoot, Ludwig, who won on her last visit to her home stadium at the 2017 World Tour Finals, said: “It was amazing actually, we’ve never had a shoot like this – it was very impressive standing in front of the Elbphilharmonie. People were definitely also impressed, the boats which were driving by they wanted to see more action and we gave it to them.”
Current world number two Hermannová, who with Sluková is aiming to improve on her last World Championship appearance two years ago, added: “It was very fun, I expected that it would be a little bit windy, but in the end it was even windier. It was a nice experience, who else can say they were playing beach volleyball on a pontoon?”
The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Hamburg 2019 presented by comdirect and ALDI Nord kicks off on June 28 and runs until July 7.
Goosebumps are guaranteed. For further information visit www.hamburg2019.com.
