Rio de Janeiro, August 17, 2016 - 2015-16 World Tour point leaders, Germany's Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst will battle for the gold medal against the 2015 World Champions, Agatha Bednarczuk/Barbara Seixas of Brazil on Copacabana Beach. The Germans have won four of the five meetings, including the last four and both contested for the gold medal. The winner will win the gold medal, the loser wins the silver medal.
Head to Head
Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst have won four of the five meetings on the FIVB World Tour, including both gold medal matches.
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 21-19, 19-21, and 15-12 in 55 minutes, Major Hamburg, Gold Medal, 06/11/2016
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 21-15, 20-22, and 15-13 in 55 minutes, SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals, Semi-finals, 10/03/2015
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 21-17 and 21-19 in 39 minutes, SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals, Pool Play, 10/02/2015
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 21-14 and 21-17 in 38 minutes, Yokohama Grand Slam, Gold Medal, 07/25/2015
• Bednarczuk/Seixas won 24-22 and 21-16 in 43 minutes, Stavanger Major Series, Semi-finals, 06/13/2015
Historically the #4 seed defeated the #2 seed in the only meeting in the Olympic Games.
• Barbra Fontana/Linda Hanley (4), United States def. Holly McPeak/Nancy Reno (2), United States, 15-10 in 49 minutes, Contender's Bracket Round 5, Atlanta (1996).
Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst, Germany, Seed #4, Pool D, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified 4th with 6,500 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Laura: January 13, 1986 (30y7m4d), 181 cm (5'11"), 70 kg (155 lbs.), Hometown Berlin, 130th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 19th), seven gold medals, $800,137 career winnings (ranks 11th)
• Kira: November 18, 1990 (25y8m30d), 184 cm (6'0"), 75 kg (167 lbs.), Hometown Essen, 43rd FIVB World Tour event, seven gold medals, $370,187 career winnings (ranks 43rd)
• Laura and Kira have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 37th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 86th), seven gold medals (ranks 10th), $721,275 career winnings (ranks 12th).
• Laura has played in 33 FIVB World Tour final fours with seven gold, 11 silver, nine bronze medals and six 4th place finishes.
• Kira has played in 17 FIVB World Tour final fours with seven gold, three silver, four bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Laura and Kira have played in 11 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (4th Stavanger Major 2015, Gold Yokohama Grand Slam 2015, Bronze Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, Silver World Tour Finals 2015, Gold Puerto Vallarta Open 2015-16, Gold Antalya Open 2016, Gold Hamburg Major 2016, Gold Olsztyn Grand Slam 2016, 4th Porec Major 2016, Bronze Gstaad Major 2016, Gold Klagenfurt Major 2016).
• Laura finished 9th in the Olympic Games in 2008 (Beijing) and 5th in 2012 (London), both with Sara Goller Niedrig.
• Laura and Kira finished 5th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Laura finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2005 (Berlin), 17th in 2007 (Gstaad), 9th in 2009 (Stavanger), and 9th in 2011 (Rome), all with Sara Goller Niedrig.
• Laura and Kira are currently ranked 1st in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 5,980 points and 1st in winnings with $282,375.
• Laura and Kira have a career 158-54 (74.5%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 99-28 (78.0%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 117-29 (80.1%) in two sets and 39-21 (65.0%) in three sets, including 140-12 (92.1%) when winning the 1st set and 16-38 (29.6%) when losing the 1st set.
• Laura and Kira won bronze medals at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2013 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and 2014 (Cagliari, Italy), and gold medals in 2015 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and 2016 (Biel, Switzerland).
• Laura won the gold medal at the CEV Continental Championships with Sara Goller Niedrig in 2008 (Hamburg, Germany) and 2010 (Berlin, Germany).
• Laura ranks 3rd with eight gold medals on the CEV Continental Tour behind Greece's Vasso Karadassiou (10) and Vasiliki Arvaniti (9).
• Laura won the gold medal at the U18 World Championships with Jana Kohler in 2003 (Pattaya, Thailand).
• Laura was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2007, Best Offensive Player in 2011, Best Defensive Player in 2013, Most Inspirational in 2013, and Sportsperson in 2015.
• Kira was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2013 and Top Rookie in 2013.
• Pool D: Defeated Doaa Elghobashy /Nada Meawad, Egypt (21), 21-12 and 21-15 in 34 minutes.
• Pool D: Defeated Jamie Broder/Kristina Valjas, Canada (16), 21-17 and 21-11 in 32 minutes.
• Pool D: Defeated Laura Giombini/Marta Menegatti, Italy (9), 21-18, 18-21, and 15-9 in 51 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Verge-Depre, Switzerland (10), 21-19 and 21-10 in 36 minutes.
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan, Canada (5), 21-14 and 21-14 in 38 minutes.
• Semi-finals: Defeated Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca, Brazil (1), 21-18 and 21-12 in 36 minutes.
Agatha Bednarczuk/Barbara Seixas, Brazil, Seed #2, Pool B, 2-1, 2nd Place, Qualified as 2015 World Championship Gold Medalists
• Agatha and Barbara began playing together for the 2012 season but played with different partners in 2013. They are playing in their 41st FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 73rd), four gold medals, and $699,200 career winnings (ranks 14th).
• Agatha: June 22, 1983 (33y1m26d), 182 cm (6'0"), 70 kg (155 lbs.), Hometown Curitiba, 96th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 65th), four gold medals, $472,300 career winnings (ranks 26th)
• Barbara: August 3, 1987 (29y0m14d), 178 cm (5'10"), 67 kg (149 lbs.), Hometown Rio de Janeiro, 55th FIVB World Tour event, four gold medals, $413,500 career winnings (ranks 35th)
• Agatha has played in 19 FIVB World Tour final fours with four gold, seven silver, six bronze medals and two 4th place finishes.
• Barbara has played in 17 FIVB World Tour final fours with four gold, six silver and seven bronze medals.
• Agatha and Barbara have played in nine Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Gold Prague Open 2015, Silver Stavanger Major 2015, Gold St. Petersburg Grand Slam 2015, Gold World Championships 2015, Silver Yokohama Grand Slam 2015, Silver Rio de Janeiro Open 2015, Bronze World Tour Finals 2015, Bronze Maceió Open 2016, Silver Hamburg Major 2016).
• Agatha and Barbara won the gold medal in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• Agatha finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships with Sandra Pires in 2005 (Berlin) and 17th with Maria Antonelli in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Barbara won the bronze medal in the FIVB World Championships with Liliane Maestrini in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Agatha and Barbara are currently ranked 20th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 2,800 points and 12th in winnings with $97,000.
• Agatha and Barbara have a career 166-54 (75.5%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 92-22 (80.7%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 127-27 (82.5%) in two sets and 37-26 (58.7%) in three sets, including 141-10 (93.4%) when winning the 1st set and 23-43 (34.8%) when losing the 1st set.
• Barbara won silver medals at the U18 World Championships with Carolina Salgado in 2003 (Pattaya, Thailand) and 2004 (Termoli, Italy).
• Barbara won gold medals at the U19 World Championships with Carolina Aragao in 2005 (Saint Quay Portrieux, France) and 2006 (Myslowice, Poland).
• Barbara won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships with Liliane Maestrini in 2007 (Modena, Italy).
• Barbara was named the FIVB World Tour Top Rookie in 2012.
• Pool B: Defeated Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova, Czech Republic (23), 19-21, 21-17, and 15-11 in 57 minutes.
• Pool B: Defeated Ana Gallay/Georgina Klug, Argentina (14), 21-11 and 21-17 in 37 minutes.
• Pool B: Lost to Elsa Baquerizo/Liliana Fernandez, Spain (11), 17-21 and 20-22 in 44 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Fan Wang/Yuan Yue, China (15), 21-12 and 21-16 in 38 minutes.
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Ekaterina Birlova/Evgeniya Ukolova, Russia (24), 23-21 and 21-16 in 49 minutes.
• Semi-finals: Defeated April Ross/Kerri Walsh Jennings, United States (3), 22-20 and 21-18 in 48 minutes.