The 8th of September, 2019 – Rome, Italy By defeating Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda “Duda” Lisboa of Brazil in the finals of the US$600,000 FIVB World Tour Finals on Sunday evening, the German duo of Margareta Kozuch and Laura Ludwig earned the acclaim of the beach volleyball community.
Highlights of Ludwig/Kozuch Vs. Agatha/Duda Beach Volleyball at
Twenty-second-seeded Kozuch and Ludwig defeated fourth-seeded Brazilians Agatha and Duda 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) in 43 minutes. Agatha and Duda were competing in their third consecutive FIVB World Tour Finals and were looking for their second consecutive gold medal.
Ludwig, who was competing in her fourth FIVB World Tour Finals when Kozuch won her first-ever international gold medal, has now added a total of three titles to her impressive resume. In 2016 and 2017, Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst won the first two championships.
The 2016 victory came after the German duo of Ludwig and Walkenhorst won the Olympic gold medal in Rio by defeating the Brazilian duo of Agatha and Barbara Seixas. Victory in the FIVB World Tour Finals in Hamburg, Germany, confirmed Ludwig and Walkenhorst’s 2017 world championship victory at Vienna.
After what seemed like an interminable period of time (since her last tournament victory), “remarked Ludwig, 33. “As a team, we were put through a gruelling examination during the entire season, and we had to practise patience and strengthen our core values in order to succeed.
Seeing the results at the conclusion of the season validates our efforts and inspires us to continue working hard in preparation for the next season. We had excellent coordination and performed fantastically.
Kozuch, who is finishing her third full season on the FIVB circuit following a brilliant indoor career as Germany’s best player, stated, “when the last ball touched the sand, I couldn’t believe it was over and we had won, it took me a few minutes to actually grasp it was over and we had won.”
Agatha and Duda beat Kozuch and Ludwig in three sets
When Agatha and Duda beat Kozuch and Ludwig in three sets on Sunday for the gold medal, it avenged a loss they suffered earlier in the month in the Vienna Major. Despite the loss, Agatha and Duda won $32,000 and 1,080 points toward Tokyo qualification, respectively.
For the bronze medal, the sixth-seeded Brazilian duo of Rebecca Cavalcanti and Ana Patricia Silva defeated the 10th-seeded Swiss team of Joana Heidrich and Anouk Verge-Depre 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 16-14) in 59 minutes.
Last Words
Rebecca and Ana Patricia ended their first full season on the FIVB World Tour with a third-place reward of $20,000 after sweeping the Swiss in two matches. The Swiss finished in fourth-place and split $16,000.
