Laura Ludwig and some three-time Olympians

Last week, I presented some key European teams to play in the upcoming women’s beach volleyball tournament at Tokyo 2020, including Spain’s Liliana Fernаndez & Elsa Baquerizo, who have already played at two editions of the Olympic Games as a team. Today, I present the remaining European ladies, for whom Tokyo 2020 will be the third Olympic appearance, but, of course, I start with the one and only four-time Olympian - Laura Ludwig.

35-year-old German Laura Ludwig is not only the only European lady for whom Tokyo 2020 will be the fourth appearance on the Olympic sand, but also appearing there as the defending Olympic champion from Rio 2016. In fact, she was a member of the only European women’s pair to have ever been on the podium in the history of Olympic beach volleyball.

Laura Ludwig stormed onto the international beach volleyball scene in 2003, winning gold at both the CEV U18 European Championship and the FIVB U18 World Championship alongside Jana Kohler. Later in her career, young Laura added a 2006 U23 continental crown and three more medals at age-category European Championships to her early collection.

An amazing career at the senior level followed. She reached the podium of every single edition of the European Championship from 2007 through 2016, with only one exception in 2012, and piled up four titles, two silvers and three bronzes. On the World Tour, the German athlete picked up 10 gold, 11 silver and nine bronze medals, as well as Europe’s only ever World Tour season title in 2016. In 2017, she and Kira Walkenhorst became the first European team to triumph as women’s world champions and only the third ever to win a medal at the FIVB World Championships.

Ludwig made her rookie Olympic appearance at Beijing 2008, where she and Sara Niedrig finished ninth. At London 2012, they did better – a fifth place finish. Already with Walkenhorst as a partner, Ludwig peaked as an Olympic champion at Rio 2016. At her fourth Olympics, Laura Ludwig will compete alongside Margareta Kozuch.

Italy’s Marta Menegatti appeared in international beach volleyball in 2006 and the following year, she celebrated her first medal, a U19 World Championship silver, following it up with a 2009 U20 European Championship gold and a 2010 U21 World Championship silver. The latter was the first medal she claimed with Viktoria Orsi Toth, her partner today.

At her very first senior European Championship in 2011, Marta triumphed with the continental crown, partnering with Greta Cicolari. Since debuting on the World Tour in 2010, 30-year-old Menegatti has now picked up two gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals. At her first Olympic appearance at London 2012, she and Cicolari finished fifth. Four years later, in Rio, Marta Menegatti & Laura Giombini finished ninth. Another five years later, in Tokyo, Marta will chase her Olympic dream with a third different partner, Viktoria Orsi Toth.

2005 was the first year in international beach volleyball for Czechia’s Marketa Slukova. That summer, she and Kristyna Kolocova became U18 European champions. The young Czech hopefuls earned three continental silvers (two U23 and one U20) before climbing on top of the podium again at the 2010 U23 European Championship.

At the senior level, 33-year-old Slukova has now accumulated six gold, three silver and two bronze medals on the World Tour. At the London 2012 Games, Slukova & Kolocova finished fifth. At Rio 2016, already with her current partner Barbora Hermannova, Slukova placed 17th. Also, alongside Hermannova, the Czech athlete has won two EuroBeachVolley medals, silver in 2016 and bronze in 2018.

Madelein Meppelink has two ninth-place finishes at the previous editions of the Olympic Games. At London 2012, she played together with Sophie van Gestel and, at Rio 2016, with Marleen van Iersel. For her third Olympic appearance, the 31-year-old Dutch athlete will play with a third different partner, Sanne Keizer.

Meppelink started playing internationally, at age-category continental championships, in 2005. In 2006, she claimed her first medal alongside the future setter of the Dutch indoor national team, Laura Dijkema, finishing runners-up at the CEV U18 European Championship. Meppelink started playing on the World Tour in 2009. Since then she has won two gold medals, in addition to six silvers and seven bronzes. She has also triumphed as a EuroBeachVolley champion twice. In 2014, she wore the continental crown together with Van Iersel, and in 2018, at home in the Netherlands, together with her current teammate Keizer.