It is not a quick trip from Germany to Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 14,000 kilometers and 12 hours of flight time separate the two countries. Yet this weekend for the Cape Town Elite, it proved to be as advantageous as a home event for the German women. Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Muller won their first Elite in more than a year on Sunday in South Africa, sweeping Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon, 21-17, 25-23, completing an undefeated run that saw them drop only a single set all week.
The silver marks Stam and Schoon’s second consecutive final after winning gold at the Veracruz Challenge three weeks ago. Perfect momentum heading into the World Championships in a few weeks.
Bronze, too, went to Germany. Sandra Ittlinger and Anna Grune claimed their first medal as a duo in upsetting Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova, 17-21, 21-15, 15-9. It’s not only their first medal as a team — it’s Grune’s first medal above a Futures level.
Timo Hammarberg attempts to hit around Jacob Holting-Nilsson/Volleyball World photo
Young Sweden’s Triumphant Return
Podiums have been strangely bereft of Swedish influence as of late. After storming onto the Beach Pro Tour scene with three straight finals — in Gstaad, Baden and Montreal — Jacob Holting-Nilsson and Elmer Andersson had been kept out of three straight semifinals in their next three events.
Such was not the case in Cape Town. Holting-Nilsson and Andersson resumed what is their typical form in South Africa, winning six straight matches to claim their first Elite gold, sweeping Austria’s Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger, 21-18, 21-15 in the finals.
The silver is the first medal above a Futures level for Hammarberg and Berger, who have now put together four straight top-10 finishes.
Sweden wasn’t the only Scandinavian team making a triumphant return, either. Norway’s Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen hadn’t made an Elite semifinal prior to Cape Town, much less medaled in one. They followed up on a solid fifth in Newport Beach with a bronze medal in Cape Town, fending off France’s Remi Bassereau and Calvin Aye, 21-18, 14-21, 15-8 to take bronze.
