LUDWIG Laura

Previous teammates
Kira Walkenhorst, Jenny Heinemann, Victoria Bieneck, Julia Sude, Anni Schumacher, Elena Kiesling, Sara Goller, Jana Kohler (olympicchannel.com, 17 May 2020; fivb.com 18 Aug 2016; volleyball.world, 23 Aug 2014; fivb.org, 2019)

General
POSITIVE POSTPONEMENT
She said she briefly considered retirement from beach volleyball following the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but ultimately decided to continue playing with a focus on improving the finer details of her partnership with Margareta Kozuch. "When the news came about the postponement I didn't want to think about it and even thought about leaving the sport, but those feelings went away quickly as beach volleyball and sport in general play a huge role in my life. We [her and Kozuch] were gifted time in a sense as it gives us more time to work on small details." (ndr.de, 1 May 2020; olympicchannel.com, 17 May 2020)

NEW PARTNER
In 2019, after returning from her maternity break, she had to find a new partner following the retirement of Kira Walkenhorst. She teamed up with Margareta Kozuch, who she has known since age 14 when they travelled together to play for the national indoor youth team. "I'm very grateful to have Maggie by my side. She's positive and open to everything we do and she loves it. We've known each other for so long and that gives us a good feeling because with every passing day the pressure goes away a little. That enables us to focus on ourselves. I know that it won't be the same as when I played with Kira, but Maggie is an exciting project and teammate." (gameplan-a.com, 04 Jun 2020; rp-online.de, 09 Feb 2019; fivb.com, 07 Jan 2019; hamburg2019.com, 24 Apr 2019)

MATERNITY BREAK
She gave birth to her son Teo in June 2018 and returned to competition in 2019. "I needed some time out and enjoyed the pregnancy very much. It was good to give my head a break and get so intensely involved in something completely different. Before that, my life was all about sport. When I came back to the sport after childbirth, I joined a new team [with Magareta Kozuch]. It felt as if I'd gone back to starting from scratch. This was frustrating for me and I had to learn and trust in the path that was now ahead of me. It was really very difficult for me. But it also taught me patience and that if you set a new goal, you have to trust in your experience and what has worked in the past and just keep going, even if you have setbacks." (gameplan-a.com, 04 Jun 2020; abendblatt.de, 30 Jun 2018; ndr.de, 13 Sep 2019)

OVERCOMING SELF DOUBT
In 2020 she spoke about how working with a sports psychologist has helped her prepare for major tournaments and deal with difficult moments during matches. "Doubt can have a huge impact on my game. When I feel fear or doubt, I'm out. I can't win. My sports psychologist has really helped me to open up and speak about the things that I didn't think anyone else could help me with. The truth is that even just speaking about fears or doubts can help you to let go of them a little. It helps me feel stronger mentally and physically. It's important to talk about those kinds of emotions, or at least develop routines that you can rely on to push them aside." (gameplan-a.com, 04 Jun 2020)

STROKE AT AGE 18
While training one day at age 18 she lost feeling in her left arm and the left side of her mouth went numb. She also began slurring her speech, so she was taken to hospital where doctors diagnosed a mini stroke. "That was awful, frightening and shocking. It taught me very early on to listen to and look after my body. Fortunately I did not suffer any lasting side effects." (fivb.com, Jan 30, 2015)

She and her teammate Kira Walkenhorst won Germany's first women's Olympic beach volleyball medal when they claimed gold at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (fivb.org, 07 Dec 2016; SportsDeskOnline, 18 Aug 2016)