Norway turns out to be a very hospitable country for the best German tandem Brink-Reckermann as they won their first European title together in Kristiansand, two years after they claimed their world dominance in Stavanger.
The small town of Kristiansand became a part of the Swatch-FIVB World Tour family in 2007, but this year it only hosted the tournament of the best European teams. In the absence of Americans and Brazilians, Brink-Reckermann arrived in Norway as top-seeded. They achieved some impressive results over the summer, winning the bronze in the World Championship in Rome and several other podium placements during the World Tour, but they were still missing a title in 2011.
The final was an all-German affair just to prove German traditions in international beach volleyball. On the rainy Sunday Brink-Reckermann beat compatriots Jonathan Erdmann and Kay Matysik in straight sets (25-23, 21-19). This was Reckermann’s third European crown after seizing two already with partner Markus Dieckmann back in 2002 and 2004, whereas Brink added a second gold medal from European Championships after the first one in 2006 with Dieckmann’s brother Christoph.
The defending champions from the Netherlands Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil made it to the podium for a fifth time in a row, but only to win the bronze medal match this time against Heuscher-Bellaguarda (Switzerland) by 2-1 (25-23, 15-21, 18-16). The best Dutch couple, each of whom had a glorious past in international indoor volleyball before switching to the beach, completed a unique collection of medals after three gold ones and a silver podium from Valencia (Spain) in 2007.
It is rumored that next year’s Olympics might be the last competition for the 38-year-old veteran Richard Schuil after a long and successful career. Even if the intentions of Schuil are true, and his partner Reinder Nummerdor would be forced to return to the game indoors, the Dutch couple already left its mark on the beach courts by setting the Netherlands among the best in the world. The young followers Brouwer-Meeuwsen and Stiekema-Varenhorst were among the pleasant surprises in Kristiansand and will surely be mentioned more often in the years to come.
