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Our #hyloathletes have been active and working hard once again over the past week. We take a look back at the last seven days’ events and competitions featuring our athletes, teams and clubs.
Double synchronised success for German gymnastics team at home Trampoline World Cup
For the first time in nearly 14 years, Germany has once again hosted a World Cup trampolining competition: from 22 to 24 March 2024, Cottbus’s Lausitz Arena was the venue for the final tournament in the FIG World Cup series. The competition at the Lausitz was also an Olympic qualifying event, and thus the final opportunity for DTB athletes to secure a coveted ticket to the Olympics. A total of 300 athletes competed in trampolining at the Lausitz Arena this weekend, turning Cottbus into a trampolining mecca.
Fabian Vogel achieved a quota place for the Olympics in the DTB selection. However, following 34th place (57,720 points) on Friday, he had to wait and see how his competitors fared in order to secure a ticket to Paris. The German champion was still in the running for an Olympic ticket thanks to his good results in previous World Cups and his competitors’ results on Saturday. Portuguese athlete Gabriel Albuquerque should have been able to challenge Vogel in the final of the World Cup in Cottbus, but only managed sixth place. This was not enough to overtake the Bad Kreuznach native in the rankings for the highly sought-after Olympic ticket. In a sold-out Lausitz Arena, the presenting duo were able to announce the happy news after official confirmation from the technical committee, creating a fantastic highlight shortly before the synchronised final. The German gymnastics team will thus be represented in all of DTB’s Olympic disciplines at the biggest sporting event in the world.
On the final day of the competition (Sunday 24 March), the German gymnastics team was on top form for the fans. At the sold-out Lausitz Arena, the exciting highlight of the day was the men’s and women’s synchronised finals, both with German participants. World championship pair Fabian Vogel/Caio Lauxtermann won their home World Cup in the seniors’ synchronised event. With an incredible synchronised score of 19.2 points, they won gold and a total of 51,900 for their performance, representing a new personal record.
The two youngsters Aurelia Eislöffel/Maya Möller secured bronze in the same event for the women. After a silver medal at their first World Cup last week in Alkmaar (NED), the young gymnasts have now finally arrived on the senior women’s World Cup circuit in front of a home crowd.
Following their home World Cup in Cottbus, Germany’s top trampoline gymnasts will soon be heading to the European championships in Guimarães (Portugal). The European championship titles will be contested in northern Portugal from 3 to 7 April.
Two home Players Championships for Gabriel Clemens
On Monday and Tuesday (18 and 19 March 2024), Hildesheim hosted the first two Players Championship events of the year on the darts Pro Tour. Saarland darts pro Gabriel Clemens was also at Halle 39 in Hildesheim for days 5 and 6 of the Players Championship 2024.
The German Giant reached the third round of the Pro Tour for the third time this season at the first event on Monday (18 March). The Saarland player fought his way through a deciding set twice: in round one this was against Poland’s Radek Szaganski, who the German number one beat 6:5 with the 18th dart in the eleventh leg. In the second round, it took Clemens a final spurt to transform 3:5 down against Thomas Lovely into a 6:5 win, including defending various match points. Michael van Gerwen was then too strong for ‘Gaga’ in the board final, at 6:3. Ultimately, the Saarwellingen native missed too many opportunities to create a more exciting game.
On the second day in Hildesheim (19 March), Gabriel Clemens’s day of play came to an end after the first round. In a domestic duel against Lukas Wenig, the German Giant was narrowly beaten in the decider. His opponent established a commanding 5:1 lead, but Clemens fought back in 17, 13 and two lots of 14 darts without any match points against him, reaching a deciding final set. Wenig was initially unable to close out the match with 43 points, but Clemens missed 89 points on a double 5 and ultimately gave his opponent the deciding dart with a double 10 to gain a 6:5 win.
Days 9 and 10 of the Players Championship will be held in Hildesheim once again in early May. Next up for Gabriel Clemens is the German Darts Grand Prix over the Easter weekend, from 30 March to 1 April, as part of the European Tour.
Another win for FCS Tischtennis before the Champions League Final 4
1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis have confirmed their position at the top of the table in magnificent form. They were able to gain a 3:1 win in their home game against SV Werder Bremen on the 18th day of play in the Joachim-Deckarm-Halle last Tuesday (19 March 2024).
The first singles match saw Saarbrücken player Yuto Muramatsu, who was the top seed for the evening, clearly dominate his opponent Marcelo Aguirre and gain a comfortable win with set scores of 11:5, 11:9 and 11:4. The match between Saarland captain Patrick Franziska and Gerassimenko was then a highlight of the evening, going to five sets and ending with a 3:2 win for Gerassimenko. After the break, Darko Jorgic faced Swede Mattias Falck and won 3:0. Despite a hard-fought first set, which Jorgic ultimately won 12:10, Falck was unable to do much more in the subsequent sets (11:4, 11:3). The final match then featured Muramatsu, who took on Gerassimenko without dropping a single set and secured the third point and a home victory for FCS TT. The Saarbrücken team thus remain at the top of the TTBL table in magnificent form, and are looking forward confidently to their upcoming highlight in front of a home crowd.
This Easter weekend sees the Saarlandhalle in Saarbrücken hosting the Champions League Final Four (31 March & 1 April 2024). Hosts and reigning Champions League winners 1. FC Saarbrücken TT will appear alongside Borussia Düsseldorf, TTC Neu-Ulm and TTC Wiener Neustadt to compete for the European table tennis crown.
Tickets for the Champions League Men Final Four 2023/2024 are still available from the FCS Tischtennis online shop or on the gate.
Füchse Berlin: two more wins under their belt and world-class handball player in their ranks
After the international cap break, Füchse Berlin have been gaining their next vital points and confirming their place at the top of the LIQUI MOLY Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) table. On Thursday (21 March 2024), the Berlin players won their away game against Rhein-Neckar Löwen 28:36 (11:14). In front of 10,002 spectators at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Hans Lindberg was the top scorer for Füchse with seven goals. Dejan Milosavljev won the battle of the goalies with a total of 11 saves, nine of which were in the first half. In coach Jaron Siewert’s summary: ‘The combination of goalkeeping skill, defence and pace up front made all the difference’. Ultimately, the team under Paul Drux gave a dominant performance unthreatened by their opponents.
For a catch-up game from the 20th day of play on Sunday (24 March), Füchse Berlin faced HBW Balingen-Weilstetten on home turf. The table leaders were up against the current last-placed team the Handball-Bundesliga. This Bundesliga match day also included the fourth Children’s Handball Day. In addition, a special award was presented before the start of the match: 25-year-old European Championship runner-up and EHF EURO 2024 top scorer Mathias Gidsel was named ‘Danish handball player of the year’ before the Bundesliga game. This is the second time (after 2021) he has received this award. On Friday, Füchse’s Danish top scorer was also named 2023 World Player of the Year – the Dane beat players including Germany’s national goalkeeper Andreas Wolff and French European champion Ludovic Fabregas. Gidsel has been putting in impressive performances for years, was named player of the tournament at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and was the highest goal scorer. At the 2023 World Cup, the centre back was Denmark’s key player in their path to the title. He has played a major role in Füchse’s success so far this season.
Amid all the festivities, Füchse were then able to clinch their Bundesliga game against HBW Balingen-Weilstetten with a tight 35:34 win (18:16) and continue defending their leading position in the table against Magdeburg by adding two more points to their tally. Hans Lindberg was Berlin’s best scorer with ten goals, in front of 9000 spectators in the Max-Schmeling-Halle. The 42-year-old shot from seven metres a total of nine times. World-class handball player Mathias Gidsel chalked up six goals, including his 200th goal of the season.
In the playoff to reach the EHF European League quarter finals, the Berlin team will face Kadetten Schaffhausen on Tuesday (26 March). The first leg of the playoffs will be played away from home at the BBC Arena Schaffhausen, with the second leg following a week later on 2 April at the Berlin team’s home ground.
First away win for proWIN Volleys
On Saturday (23 March 2024), proWIN Volleys TV Holz were able to celebrate their first away victory of the current 2. Damen Volleyball-Bundesliga-Süd season. The Saarland volleyball players achieved an impressive 3:0 (21:25, 16:25, 19:25) win over TV SUSPA Altdorf and thus secured their first full points haul in a foreign stadium, vital for their mission to stay in the league. This easy win also allowed the Volleys to make up for their painful 0:3 loss in the first leg against the sixth-placed team. Holz’s best player was Nicole Turmovich. The proWIN Volleys are now in tenth place in the table with 24 points, which is likely to be enough to keep them in the league.
The Volleys have two games left before the final reckoning. On 20 April, the Saarland team faces table leaders Vilsbiburg II – every point is worth its weight in gold. The final day of play will then most likely be a deciding epic to avoid relegation. On 27 April, proWIN Volleys will be welcoming next-placed league team Barock Volleys MTV Ludwigsburg to Saarbrücken’s Multifunktionshalle at Sportcampus Saar.
Royals return to Berlin after two defeats
The first playoff game in the quarter finals for the TOYOTA Damen Basketball-Bundesliga (DBBL) German Championships saw the Saarlouis Royals face main-round winners ALBA Berlin, and nearly cause a huge stir. The Royals’ away game last Friday (22 March 2024) in Berlin’s Sömmeringhalle did not go entirely as expected, and although the Berlin retained the lead mostly throughout, they were never able to decisively pull away. At the end of the last quarter, the Saarland team equalised and even pulled into the lead. With a score of 71:67, they were dreaming of a huge win, but were unable to gain any further points. The Berlin team managed to equalise with two successful free throws, and even had an opportunity to win the game in normal time when the Royals lost the ball. However, both attempts failed. In the five minutes of extra time, the ALBA team showed greater persistence and ultimately secured an 87:78 win over the battling Royals.
In the second playoff game on Sunday (24 March), the Royals were able to keep the game evenly matched for around 15 minutes. However, the game then broke down when Berlin moved 28:22 in front. The Saarland club went eight minutes across quarters without scoring a basket, whilst the home side were able to pull away to 41:22. Saarlouis were not ever able to seriously challenge this gap, and even a phenomenal Destiny Littleton – who scored 31 of the Royals’ 47 points – could not prevent the weakened Saarland team suffering a defeat. After an overtime thriller on Friday evening in their first game, this time the Berlin team left nothing to chance, remaining unbeaten in their fifth game against Saarlouis this season and gaining a commanding 65:47 home win to take a 2:0 lead in the best-of-five series.
On Thursday (28 March), the Royals are welcoming their Berlin opponents to the Stadtgartenhalle in Saarlouis for the third game of the playoff series. A home win would keep the series running and earn them another home game on Saturday night.
We are looking forward to upcoming appearances from our #hyloathletes and wish all of our HYLO® partners much luck and success.