German star Julius Thole retires to focus on law studies

German Beach Volleyball star and 2019 FIVB World Championship silver medallist Julius Thole has surprisingly announced his retirement from the sport at the young age of 24. Thole, who has been playing with Clemens Wickler since 2018, has decided to focus entirely on his studies in law.

Beach Volleyball Sports Director at the German Volleyball Federation (DVV) Niclas Hildebrand: “The news came as a shock to us at first, because we wanted to continue the successful path we started in 2018 with Julius and Clemens until at least Paris 2024. As a team they made it to the top of the world incredibly quickly, won medals at major tournaments and demonstrated at the Olympics this year what a high level they can achieve in a short time with little preparation and after injury breaks. Julius was far from the end of his development and in our opinion could have grown into one of the best blockers in the world. His decision hits the German men’s Beach Volleyball programme very hard. On the other hand, you have to pay Julius great respect. At the top of the world, top performance is only possible if everything is subject to this goal, the smallest doubts can make the difference. We would like to thank Julius for his short but very successful time in the sand and wish him all the best for his studies and his professional future. He is an outstanding personality with whom we would have loved to have continued working in the years to come.”

Julius explains: “I want to set a new focus in my life. The decision was not an easy one for me and I have been thinking about it for a long time over the past few weeks. The main reason is that for the next three years I will no longer be able to practice the sport with full devotion. This has always been the most important requirement for us, for the team and our success. There were two main reasons for this. I want to focus on my law studies. I already studied during my career, which I certainly did very well for the circumstances but I have now reached a phase, shortly before the state examination, in which I realise that I would like to focus on my studies even more and that that would no longer be compatible with my commitment to sport. I am now looking forward to a life that I can shape more freely, more than just studying and attending lectures. Maybe learn a new language, do a semester abroad or look into other subjects. I do not have to explain how difficult it was for me to make the decision. Beach Volleyball was my life, I am very grateful for the experiences and encounters, and I met so many great people. I could not have dreamed of successes like fifth place at the Olympics and the World Championship silver medal.”

Born in Hamburg, Thole found a congenial partner in Clemens Wickler, with whom he eventually took the beach volleyball world by storm. The duo became German champions in the very first year together and took a surprising fourth place at the World Tour Final in 2018 in Hamburg. Only one year later, Thole/Wickler thrilled the crowd at the home World Championship in Hamburg and stormed into the final, where they lost to Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy of Russia. The pictures of the sold out stadium at Rothenbaum, with queues of several hundred metres in front of it, the celebrating fans and more than a million viewers in the final alone in front of the TV will remain forever. Just two months after living such a fairy tale, they finished the season with silver at the World Tour Final in Rome and suddenly belonged to the circle of medal favourites for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Despite the break caused by the pandemic, the team confirmed their status and won a second joint German championship in 2020. In the Olympic year that followed, both Thole and Wickler had to deal with injuries, but with a strong fifth place in Tokyo, they showed once again that they could return to the top of the world in a short time. The TGV in the direction of Paris for Thole/Wickler seemed to be ready until Thole decided not to board that train at all.

Wickler to team up with Nils Ehlers

Thole’s partner Clemens Wickler, on the other hand, is not thinking of quitting: “Certainly the news was a shock at first, but Julius explained it to me plausibly. It was always clear that we would only do it as long as we were more than 100 percent involved and committed. You have to devote yourself completely, so it is a fair decision towards the coaching team and me. If Julius only brings in 80 percent and struggles through, it will not do anyone any good. I can understand it completely.”

Wickler makes a new attempt with Nils Ehlers: “We are both very good individual players and will try to develop the right chemistry. I am very optimistic that it will work out and that we will have good years together. Our goal is, of course, to be there in Paris and to do the best we can there.”

Niclas Hildebrand says, “In the future, with Nils Ehlers, we will rely on a blocker who has already experience from the World Tour, but who has not yet reached his top performance. I am curious to see who will prevail among the younger blockers and whether there will be any addition to our pool of blockers coming from indoor Volleyball.”