sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Kira Katharina Walkenhorst (born 18 November 1990) is a retired German beach volleyball player who played as a blocker.[1] She has an older brother Alexander Walkenhorst who is a professional beach volleyball player [2] and a younger sister Pia Walkenhorst who also plays beach volleyball.

Kira Walkenhorst
Kira Walkenhorst in 2017
Personal information
Nationality	German
Born	(1990-11-18) 18 November 1990 (age 31)
Hometown	Essen, Germany
Height	184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
Teammate Anna-Lena Grüne
National team
Germany
Honours Women's beach volleyball Representing  Germany Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Beach FIVB World Championships 2017 Vienna Beach European Championships 2016 Biel/Bienne Beach 2015 Klagenfurt Beach 2014 Cagliari Beach 2013 Klagenfurt Beach

Walkenhorst won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro[3] together and at the 2017 World Championships with her teammate Laura Ludwig.[4] She also won bronze medals at the 2013 and 2014 European Beach Volleyball Championships and gold medals at the 2015 and 2016 Beach ECH alongside her teammate Laura Ludwig.[5]

She retired from competition at the start of 2019 due to persistent injuries.[6]

In 2020, Walkenhorst made her comeback on the national tour and participated in the German championships.

Professional career

2016: Rio de Janeiro

Kira Walkenhorst participated in the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio together with her teammate Laura Ludwig. They won the gold medal in the final match against the Brazilian duo Ágatha Bednarczuk and Bárbara Seixas in straight sets of 21-18, 21-14 following their victory against the Brazilian duo Larissa França and Talita Antunes in the semi-finals.[7]

2016: World Tour

Walkenhorst competed in the World Tour Finals in Toronto. With teammate Laura they finished 3rd (Last) in Pool-B with 2 losses In the quarter final match against Ross and Walsh they won in 3 sets of (21-18, 19-21, 15-11), advancing to the semi final against Larissa and Talita of Brazil.[8]

Winning against Brazil in straight sets of (21-19, 21-19)[9] the pair advance to the gold medal match. Another GOLD medal for the Olympic winners in straight sets of (21-18, 21-16)[10] against the Swiss pair of Zumkehr and Heidrich

2017 season

Walkenhorst opened the 2017 season at Fort Lauderdale Major with temporary partner Julia Großner while her regular partner Laura Ludwig recovered from a shoulder injury.[11] They won two out of their three pool play matches to make it through to the Final 24. Here they lost 0:2 to Meppelink / Van Gestel (NED) so finished the tournament in 17th position.[12] At the world championships in Vienna, Ludwig / Walkenhorst won the gold medal after beating Lauren Fendrick and April Ross in the final.[13]

Personal life

In late 2016, Walkenhorst came out as a lesbian.[14] In October 2017, she married her longtime girlfriend and trainer Maria Kleefisch.[15] One year later, her wife Maria gave birth to triplets.[16]

References

External links

• Kira Walkenhorst at FIVB beach volleyball database
• Kira Walkenhorst at European Volleyball Confederation
• Kira Walkenhorst at Beach Volleyball Database
• Kira Walkenhorst at WorldofVolley
• Kira Walkenhorst at Deutscher Volleyball-Verband (in German)
• Kira Walkenhorst at Olympics.com
• Kira Walkenhorst at Olympedia
• Kira Walkenhorst at the German Olympic Sports Confederation (in German)

Sporting positions
Preceded by  Larissa França and Talita Antunes (BRA)	Women's FIVB Beach World Tour Winner alongside Laura Ludwig 2016	Succeeded by  Larissa França and Talita Antunes (BRA)
Awards
Preceded by  Sarah Pavan (CAN)	Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Blocker" 2016	Succeeded by  Sarah Pavan (CAN)
Preceded by  Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)	Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Hitter" 2017	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by  Sophie van Gestel (NED)	Women's FIVB World Tour "Most Improved" 2013	Succeeded by  Tanja Hüberli (SUI)
Preceded by  Bárbara Seixas (BRA)	Women's FIVB World Tour "Top Rookie" 2013	Succeeded by  Melissa Humana-Paredes (CAN)
Preceded by  Larissa França and Talita Antunes (BRA)	Women's FIVB World Tour "Team of the Year" alongside Laura Ludwig 2016	Succeeded by  Larissa França and Talita Antunes (BRA)

На других языках

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[de] Kira Walkenhorst

Kira-Katharina Walkenhorst (* 18. November 1990 in Essen) ist eine deutsche Volleyball- und Beachvolleyballspielerin. Mit Laura Ludwig wurde sie 2016 Olympiasiegerin und 2017 Weltmeisterin, 2015 und 2016 Europameisterin. Mit Laura Ludwig wurde sie in Deutschland 2016 zur Beachvolleyballerin des Jahres, 2016 und 2017 zur Mannschaft des Jahres sowie 2020 zu den „Legenden des Jahrzehnts“ in der Kategorie „Mannschaft“ gewählt.

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- [en] Kira Walkenhorst

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[it] Kira Walkenhorst

Kira Walkenhorst (Essen, 18 novembre 1990) è un'ex giocatrice di beach volley tedesca.

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[ru] Валькенхорст, Кира

Кира Валькенхорст (нем. Kira Walkenhorst; родилась 18 ноября 1990 года в г. Эссен) ― немецкая пляжная волейболистка. Выиграла золотую медаль на летних Олимпийских играх 2016 года в Рио-де-Жанейро вместе со своей напарницей Лаурой Людвиг. Она также завоевала бронзовую медаль в 2013 году на Европейском турнире по пляжному волейболу.[4]

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