The young Swiss beach volleyball duo of Esmée Böbner/Zoé Vergé-Dépré had to bow out in the quarter-finals and will not be playing for the medals. Nevertheless, the joy of a good tournament prevails.
06.08.2024, 23:06
06.08.2024, 23:55
SDA
Esmée Böbner and Zoé Vergé-Dépré stand under the trees of the mixed zone next to the Eiffel Tower just a few minutes after their defeat against the 2021 silver medalists - and they are able to shake off their disappointment surprisingly quickly and look ahead.
A few points decided in favor of the Australians Taliqua Clancy/Mariafe Artacho. "We lost our cool a bit at the end," says Esmée Böbner. "The clear head to take advantage of the chances we actually created." The 24-year-old from Lucerne thinks they "didn't find the perfect game".
Almost victory, despite a less than ideal game
"It wasn't our best game," Zoé Vergé-Dépré also noted. "And yet it was almost enough to win." And with that, the two switch to reflection mode. Their Olympic qualification, in which they knocked out the bronze medallists from Tokyo, Joana Mäder and Zoé's sister Anouk Vergé-Dépré, was already a surprise. Now they showed that they had truly earned their place on the big stage.
With four victories and no defeats, the two-year-old from central Switzerland and the two-year-old from Bern made it through to the quarter-finals, where they only narrowly missed out. "It's nice to see that we were able to pull off what we learned in our mental training," said Esmée Böbner. "Namely playing point for point, living in the moment and having fun. We're proud of what we've achieved, we've surpassed ourselves."
Fun and a desire for more
"We had a lot of fun on the pitch and delivered our performance at the most important tournament of the year," Vergé-Dépré rightly said. It was an incredibly great experience, they both said in unison. One that also whets the appetite for more. "This is a great experience for the next four years."
A Swiss final was no longer possible after the defeat. However, Böbner and Vergé-Dépré's last wish came true. "Now we hope that at least Nina (Brunner) and Tanja (Hüberli) will win and make it to the semi-finals."
