2017-08-22 15:59:00 CEST
Laboureur/Sude looking after number one
German top seeds concentrating on themselves
Chantal and Julia celebrate on their way to gold in Gstaad
Olympic and World champions Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst took center stage at the press conference to launch the start of the Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals presented by Vodafone – something that suits top seeds for the tournament Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude just fine.
Chantal and Julia qualified as the top ranked German team following a string of superb performances this season.
But it was the achievements of Hamburg’s very own Laura and Kira – fresh from winning gold in Vienna two weeks ago – that was the focus of Tuesday’s media day.
“We don’t mind not getting the attention, we just try and focus on ourselves,” Chantal told us. “Of course we see Laura and Kira’s success; how amazing they are and how they deal with so many things and win tournaments – but for us it doesn’t affect us.”
The Gstaad Major winners have enjoyed a superb 12 months on the sand, which really kicked off with their first title together on the World Tour, at the Poreč Major in 2016.
“We’re getting used to it now,” said Julia. “We had a different role last year but we feel comfortable playing in lots of tournaments and playing in them for longer.
“It’s much more fun for starters! Staying in tournaments longer and that has helped us focus. We finished last in the Pool in our first World Tour Finals and we finished fifth last year – so a medal is for sure the goal for us this year.”
With Hamburg’s golden girls Ludwig and Walkenhorst sure to be backed by a packed Rothenbaum crowd, Chantal is hoping the German fans can also get behind her and Julia in their bid for glory.
“It’s their home town so they will have more fans than we do but we have a big fanbase too,” said Laboureur. “I think the Germany fans can be happy that there are so many good German teams to support – not just one.”
Laboureur/Sude’s quest for gold begins with a Pool A clash on the Red Bull Beach Arena against Swiss pair Joana Heidrich and Anouk Vergé-Dépré on Wednesday at 6pm. You can watch that game and all of the matches during the tournament live on BeachStream. Click here to sign-up, it’s free!
