Heidrich and Vergé-Dépré had also won the 2020 EuroBeachVolley, meaning the Swiss have dominated the continent for the last two years with different teams.
“These were probably the two greatest weeks of Swiss beach volleyball but they’re just a reflex of a lot of hard work that has been done for several years by people behind the scenes,” Betschart explained. “We have a really good system and great coaches and it’s nice to see that our work pays off.”
Switzerland could have enjoyed even a greater deal of success in Tokyo if the draw for the elimination round hadn’t pitted the country’s teams, which were both medal candidates, so early in the tournament.
But Betschart and Hüberli’s elimination in Japan just a few days before their debut in Vienna also fueled them for their participation at the EuroBeachVolley.
“We were a little disappointed with our performance at the Olympics coming here,” Hüberli said. “The evening we were eliminated in Tokyo we decided we’d come here and do our best and fight for a medal. We really wanted to find our game again and it feels great to have won the gold medal.”
