Just noticed this (I was all set to go to bed, but then I had to pull up FIVB. That’ll teach me!). I’m a couple of days late getting on it, and shame on me for that, but this is a big story.
Reckermann, that’s him on the left in the above image, had been battling shoulder and back injuries for some time. Despite surgery for the former back in October, effectively after his career had already ended since the Olympics were the final tournament he played, it’s the latter that brings about this decision. In addition to an already-known degenerative condition, medical scans have also shown that Reckermann bears a cyst on his spine in a bad location. It would have to be pretty bad news to get a fit 33-year old at the top of his profession to call it quits.
Said Reckermann’s doctor: “maintaining his present training and tournament intensity would cause irreversible damage.”
It’s a sad end to one of the sport’s brightest careers, but health must always come first. Julius Brink’s playing career will continue with training partner Sebastian Fuchs. And apparently everyone in Germany who’s involved in beach volleyball is involved in this pairing, as Reckermann’s prior partner Markus Dieckmann and two other coaches lead the tandem, with Reckermann himself said to be remaining involved in an as-yet undetermined role.
I’ll remember Reckermann fondly, as I have a certain sentimental attachment to the Brink/Reckermann partnership. There was a time when I was living alone in an unfamiliar area at the end of a series of fairly bad breaks for me personally. I was becoming an expert at feeling sorry for myself until I finally had the mind to plug in my television set and see what it could tune in. I didn’t have cable, and this was actually not long before the nationwide digital over-the-air transition, so I wasn’t expecting to find much of anything. What I did find was this remarkable channel called Universal Sports. Perhaps you’ve heard of it, it now exists behind a paywall (as anything worth seeking out does). Its mandate, it seemed, was to showcase Olympic sports year-round, and for that reason I absolutely fell in love with it. Made me forget my troubles, even motivated me to take up jogging (what else athletically can one person really do on their own?). One of the athletes I got to see on a very regular basis was Jonas Reckermann (along with Brink). The Germans had quite the little rivalry with the American duo of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute watching them.
I hope Reckermann will make some sort of appearance at the Rio de Janiero Olympics, to claim the acclaim he has so rightly earned. In addition to the Olympic gold medal, Reckermann and Brink have won a World Championship, two European Championships and three German Championship titles. Reckermann also claimed a further two European Championships and a German Championship with Dieckmann. His is a name all volleyball fans should know and appreciate.
But as time marches on, the torch is passed. We shall have new Olympic champions in Rio, and I’ve given up on any notions that I have the foggiest clue who they might be.
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