Kategorie: News
Germany wins two bronze medals at the European Rugby Championships
The German U21 underwater rugby teams are celebrating an impressive success at this year's European Championships in Athens. Both the men's and women's teams finished in third place, securing the bronze medal. This success marks the international comeback of the junior teams of the German Scuba Diving Association (VDST) after the long forced break due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Battle for the final
Both German teams met the strong Norwegian teams in the semi-finals. The men lost 3-0 to Norway, while the women ended the match 6-0. Nevertheless, both teams had already secured third place before the semi-final and thus the bronze medal. The coaching teams, consisting of Markus Heckrath and Alex Wicht for the men's team and Janine Osswaldt and Marc Wick for the women's team, see the placing as a significant success. National junior coach Torsten Stanschus praised the commitment and stamina of the players, who were able to gain their first major international experience after the pandemic-related break.
Exciting matches and international competition
The U21 European Championship in Athens marked a new highlight in international underwater rugby. In addition to Germany, Turkey, Sweden, Finland and Norway also took part in the tournament. The titles went to Turkey in the men's competition and Norway in the women's competition: The Turkish men won the final with a close 4:3 against Norway, while the Norwegian women triumphed 1:0 against Turkey.
Final rankings of the U21 European Championships 2024:
Men:
Turkey
Norway
Germany
Sweden
Finland
Women:
Norway
Turkey
Germany
Sweden
Finland
Young talents show fighting spirit
The path to the bronze medal for the German U21 men led through exciting preliminary round matches. They secured their place in the top three with a dramatic 1:0 win against Sweden, scored by Arthur Walcher, and a convincing 9:1 win against Finland. The women's team impressed with their team performance in a 3:1 win against Sweden and a 2:2 draw against Finland.
With the successful comeback of the U21 teams at the European Championships, the VDST is confident about the future of German underwater rugby. The young talents demonstrated both passion and team spirit, which opens up promising prospects for the next competitions.
About underwater rugby
Underwater rugby is a dynamic and three-dimensional team sport that is played in swimming pools with depths of between 3.5 and 5 metres. Two teams, each with six players in the water and up to six substitutes, try to get a ball filled with salt water into the opponent's basket at the bottom of the pool. The game requires not only physical fitness and diving ability, but also a high degree of teamwork and tactical understanding. Due to the special conditions underwater, communication between the players is limited to non-verbal signals such as tapping. Underwater rugby is considered to be a low-injury sport and can be played by young people from around 16 years of age right through to old age.