The daughter of a former continental champion, the German is looking for her first gold in Vienna
Preview
More than just one of the greatest accomplishments of her career, winning the A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley Vienna 2021 presented by Swatch would mean keeping a family tradition for Karla Borger.
The 32-year-old German defender will compete in the event for the ninth time in her career next week, and for the second with partner Julia Sude, but more than just their team or their country, she will play for the history of her family in the event.
A bronze medalist at the 2016 EuroBeachVolley with former partner Britta Buthe, Karla is the daughter of one of the members of the second women’s team to ever triumph at the tournament, her mother Cordula, who won the 1995 edition of the event, in France, alongside partner Beate Paetow.
Karla Borger"When I was younger, I remember her talking about it a lot, but it’s been a long time ago.
Since 2012, when she first appeared in the EuroBeachVolley with Buthe, the defender has been trying to match her mother’s feat. She came close with her third-place finish and was also fifth in a couple of occasions alongside the blocker, with who she took silver at the 2013 World Championship and competed in the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The EuroBeachVolley will also present the Germans with a quick opportunity to bounce back from what was a disappointing Olympic performance, in which Borger and Sude lost all their three pool matches to finish 17th in Tokyo.
Karla Borger“Winning tournaments is always very special and even more when you can do it at the EuroBeachVolley or the World Championships, and it’s actually kind of a funny stituation because my mother had three kids and she told all of us not to play volleyball and we all ended up becoming professional players anyways."
In Vienna, the two will have a chance to offset for that frustration. They are on pool E alongside Spain’s Angela Lobato/Daniela Alvarez, Czech Republic’s Marketá Sluková/Barbora Hermmanová and Norway’s Ingrid Lunde/Emilie Olimstad and will debut against the Spanish on Wednesday at the A1 5G Side Court 3.
“Preparation this year with this different calendar has been unlike any other seasons, so it’s hard to know exactly what to expect, but the level will be high, as always. And Vienna is always a fantastic place to play, the crowd, the city and the organizers are all great, so I’m really excited.”