What’s new from the HYLO® Sport family
Another successful week with numerous highlights for our #hyloathletes is behind us. We take a look back at the last seven days’ events and competitions featuring our athletes, teams and clubs.
Four out of seven down – Waschi conquers Gibraltar and on course for record!
Just eleven days after successfully crossing the Cook Strait in New Zealand, Andreas ‘Waschi’ Waschburger faced the next stage in his Ocean’s Seven mission: the legendary Strait of Gibraltar. He set out from Punta de Tarifa, Spain on Sunday morning (6 April 2025) and reached the African mainland after 2 hours, 51 minutes and 21 seconds – the fastest German swimmer ever.
With a lead of 6 hours and 35 minutes, he remains on track to beat the record for the fastest overall Ocean’s Seven time.
Ocean’s Seven
The ultimate challenge for Andreas Waschburger
Read about his current world records, insights into his attempts, and other updates in this overview.
The next three stages await – the pursuit of the record continues!
KIDS DAY & runaway victory – a perfect afternoon of football for SVE
On 6 April 2025, SV Elversberg absolutely made their mark in the 2. Bundesliga. In front of a home crowd in the URSAPHARM Arena, coach Horst Steffen’s team defeated SSV Jahn Regensburg 6:0 – the club’s highest ever second division score.
The goals were scored by Tom Zimmerschied (13th minute), Carlo Sickinger (36th minute), Fisnik Asllani (45th and 75th minutes), Semih Sahin (57th minute) and Robin Fellhauer (65th minute). This victory puts Elversberg up to sixth place in the table, just two points behind the promotion spots. Horst Steffen sounded satisfied:
We used our space and kept playing right through to the end.
As well as this rousing home win, KIDS DAY made this a particularly special experience. Numerous young fans were able to watch the teams play live in the stadium and enjoy various activities alongside the match.
More details can be found in our post-match report.
Their next challenge is just around the corner: on Saturday (12 April), Elversberg have an away game against Hannover 96 – a face-to-face duel in the battle for the top end of the table.
BCB unstoppable
The Badminton-Bundesliga quarter-finals are over – with a clear outcome: 1. BC Saarbrücken-Bischmisheim reached the Bundesliga playoff semi-final with a confident home win at the weekend.
On Saturday (5 April 2025), Bischmisheim made short work of SC Union Lüdinghausen. The Saarland players brought out their entire arsenal for their 4:1 home victory in Saarbrücken’s Joachim-Deckarm-Halle. Saarland were focused right from the outset with wins in the first men’s doubles match and in the women’s doubles. Lüdinghausen were able to fight back with a win in the women’s singles, but the home team’s strong men’s singles appearances brought things to an early end at 4:1.
Semi-final ahead – Dresden in their sights
The semi-final will be on Thursday 17 April at 7 p.m.: table leaders and defending champions SV Fun-Ball Dortelweil will be hosting Bischmisheim whilst second-placed 1. BC Wipperfeld face Blau-Weiß Wittorf NMS, who both also won their quarter-finals. The two winners will clinch a ticket to the grand Bundesliga final on 3 August.
This will see them competing for the German championship title as part of the ‘Finals’ multi-sport event at the BallsportArena Dresden – live on ARD and ZDF.
Füchse Berlin: CL triumph but Bundesliga slip-up
Füchse Berlin have had a week of highs and lows. On 2 April, coach Jaron Siewert’s team secured a ticket to the Champions League quarter-finals thanks to a 37:37 scoreline in their home game against Industria Kielce. The Berlin team’s lead in the first leg (33:27) mean that they are one of the top eight teams in Europe for the first time in 13 years. Mathias Gidsel shone with 12 goals and Nils Lichtlein also put in a strong performance. Top Danish team Aalborg HB now awaits them in the quarter-finals.
Three days later on 5 April, they had a Handball Bundesliga league setback: Füchse only managed a 31:31 draw against HC Erlangen. Despite a late lead thanks to Nils Lichtlein, Erlangen managed to equalise on the final buzzer. Mathias Gidsel, Lasse Andersson, Manuel Štrlek and Lichtlein scored seven goals each. However, Berlin remain at the top of the table – level-pegging on points with MT Melsungen but slightly ahead on goal difference.
Füchse’s next challenge awaits on 16 April with an away game against Kiel, before they face Hannover-Burgdorf for a top match in the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin on 20 April.
All to play for in the playoff semi-final – Saarlouis Royals on track
Saarlouis Royals’s Toyota 1. DBBL playoff semi-finals began with two intense matches in Berlin. On 5 April, the team were defeated 66:57 by ALBA Berlin in Sömmeringhalle. Despite a strong start and a narrow lead at half time, the Royals did not manage to achieve any decisive breakthroughs in the second half. ALBA particularly had the upper hand with rebounds, whilst top scorer and league MVP Martha Burse was held to 13 points.
The quarter scores:
| Q1 17:16 | Q2 13:16 | Q3 23:14 | Q4 13:11 | Final score 66:57 |
The team responded just two days later: on Monday (7 April) the Royals equalised in the semi-final series with a 70:67 win. After a rousing start and an early 21:8 lead, Saarlouis dominated good stretches of the game. Berlin fought their way back in the final quarter, but the Royals defended their narrow lead through to the final buzzer.
The quarter scores:
| Q1 10:26 | Q2 20:13 | Q3 19:18 | Q4 18:13 | Final score 70:67 |
Next up are the deciding home games in Stadtgartenhalle. Two wins on 11 and 13 April would secure Saarlouis a place in the final. If the series continues beyond this, the decider will be on 15 April in Berlin.
BIKE AID keep up top international form
Anton Schiffer enjoyed resounding success for BIKE AID at this year’s Tour of Hellas (UCI 2.1) from 2 to 6 April 2025 and secured second place in the overall rankings. Amid a top-quality field with numerous World Tour teams, the reigning German climbing champion showed what he is really made of. In the penultimate stage, he began a decisive attack that only the subsequent overall winner Lopez was able to keep up with – another demonstration of the Saarland team’s strength on an international stage.
Another BIKE AID team was also out in Turkey: Dawit Yemane finished in fourth at the Grand Prix Syedra Ancient City (UCI 1.2) on 6 April, with a challenging mountain finish above Alanya. The team are continuing in Turkey on 10 April with the Tour of Mersin (UCI 2.2).
The next races are just around the corner: from 18 April, BIKE AID will be lining up at France’s Coupe de France race, before competing in the Tour of Türkiye (UCI Pro Series) on 27 April.
Germany’s biggest touchtennis tournament delights across the board
From 4 to 6 April, Sportcampus Saar in Saarbrücken was transformed into the setting for Germany’s biggest touchtennis event. More than 100 participants from ten countries competed for the title at the Saarland Open 2025 – powered by HYLO®.
Touchtennis is a simplified form of tennis that is played on a smaller court with special rackets and soft balls. It is known for its fun factor and encourages agility and tactics in an accessible format.
The singles was dominated by Spanish player Alberto Santos Martínez, who defeated former world number one Hassan Adam in the final after a strong semi-final win. The top woman was Aleksandra Stosic of Serbia, who secured the title by beating her teammate Kristina Ostojic. Saarland players David Kirchner and Ben Hecker reached the semi-final of the doubles competition but were beaten by the ultimate title winners from Spain.
As well as exciting sport, the event also offered a varied programme of activities including workshops, dance classes and a kids’ playground for younger visitors.
Read more about the event here: touchtennis
German trampolinists impress in first international competition of the year
German synchronised pair Fabian Vogel and Caio Lauxtermann secured a win on Sunday at the Trampoline Gymnastics World Cup in Riccione, Italy (5-6 April 2025). With 51.570 points, they left the duos from France and Kazakhstan in their wake to round off a strong weekend of competition for the German gymnastics team.
Vogel narrowly missed out on the final in the Olympic singles competition, despite a personal best score of 59.790 points. Matthias Schuldt got up to 59.320 points to finish in thirteenth place whilst Lauxtermann was in eighteenth with 58.810 points. For the women, Christine Schuldt came in seventeenth with 49.95 points.
National coach Katarina Prokesova sounded happy with these solid performances: ‘We did not have any failed attempts, which is our primary goal.’ The synchronised result marked a successful end to the competition days.
This was the first international competition of the year for the gymnasts of the German Gymnastics Federation and a welcome opportunity to take stock.
Struggle with heat at T100 Singapore – Nieschlag battles through
On Sunday (6 April 2025), top triathlete Justus Nieschlag began the 2025 racing season with the T100 triathlon in Singapore. He battled through the 100-kilometre distance in extreme temperatures to finish in twelfth place.
Nieschlag began feeling the effects of the heat during the swim, but was able to establish a good position and switched to the cycling stage in the first chasing pack. The numerous changes of pace sapped his strength, and a technical incident – his chain coming off – also made the race more difficult. Nevertheless, he put in a strong performance and began the run with motivation. He found his rhythm in the second half of the running section and was able to start attacking once again.
Although the result is not exactly what he was anticipating, Nieschlag views the race as valuable experience for his upcoming competitions.
Ups and downs for Clemens – early exit then strong comeback
Gabriel Clemens competed in Players Championship tournaments 9 and 10 in the Mattioli Arena, Leicester on 31 March and 1 April. Although he exited the first event early, he put in a much stronger performance on day two.
At Players Championship 9, Clemens had to leave in the first round following a 6:2 defeat by strong opponent Dirk van Duijvenbode. The Dutch player achieved a 106 average and only allowed Clemens to win two legs.
Things went much better for Gaga in Players Championship 10 the following day. He began with a clear 6:1 win against Wessel Nijman and also defeated Robert Owen 6:1. He particularly impressed with his double rate and fast legs, as well as a strong average of 106 points. He faced Cameron Menzies in the board final and was ultimately defeated in the deciding leg following an evenly matched game.
Gabriel Clemens has his next opportunity to shine on 8 and 9 April at Players Championship tournaments 11 and 12, back at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
We are looking forward to upcoming appearances from our #hyloathletes and wish all of our HYLO® partners much luck and success.