In an emotional and even ironic turn of events, Dutch beach volleyball legend Robert Meeuwsen bid his farewell to professional beach volleyball. He did that at home in the Netherlands, at the very same Scheveningen beach near the Hague, where he started playing the sport many years ago. Ironically, in his last match, Meeuwsen and his long-time partner Alexander Brouwer were knocked out of the CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship by their training buddies Steven van de Velde & Matthew Immers, the same young hopefuls who looked up to them as role models, but also the same talented beach volleyballers who stopped their heroes on the way to a third Olympic appearance at Paris 2024.

36-year-old Meeuwsen and 34-year-old Brouwer, who had been playing together as permanent partners for 14 seasons, since 2011, and competed at two Olympics, earning bronze at Rio de Janeiro 2016, still had a shot at the Games under the Eiffel Tower before the last qualifying tournament in June, the Ostrava Elite16. But when they lost their three-set qualifier to Poland’s Piotr Kantor & Jakub Zdybek, it turned out it was the Dutch pair’s last ever world-level match. They still finished well above the cut-off line in the Olympic Ranking, but there were two Dutch teams above them in the chart, who took up the country’s quota for Paris. Just one spot above Meeuwsen & Brouwer were Van de Velde & Immers.

The distinguished Dutchmen did not get to play in Paris, but they still had their last EuroBeachVolley to play in front of the home fans in the Netherlands. They reached Friday’s eighthfinals, where they won the first set against those same Van de Velde & Immers. The younger opponents, however, mounted a 2-1 (18-21, 21-14, 15-11) comeback and that was it… The inevitable farewell followed. It was an emotional moment and even the opponents felt an emotional barrier before scoring that last point.

“These boys are my heroes, my idols. At 14-9, I had a lump in my throat and I was a bit upset,” said Immers, who went on to claim the continental bronze with his teammate.

Before the medal matches on Sunday, the Dutch fans in the Hague had the opportunity to pay tribute to Robert Meeuwsen and his outstanding career, while a projection of images was displaying the key milestones of his career. The Dutch volleyball federation (Nevobo) and the municipality of the Hague also honoured Meeuwsen for his service to beach volleyball with a lifetime achievement award.

Next to Meeuwsen & Brouwer’s Olympic bronze in Rio, the greatest achievement on their journey together was undoubtedly the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship crown they earned at Stare Jablonki 2013. They also collected six gold, seven silver and five bronze medals on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, three silver and two bronze medals on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour and a 2017 European Championship bronze, and made it to the number one spot in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Ranking.

“It is great that I can say goodbye here,” said Meeuwsen. “I started here. This is where I met my love. We live here, and we will never leave here again. I want to thank many people for what I have been able to experience, including my family and, of course, Alex. Man, what a journey we have made together! It feels quite strange to stop after so many years, but the circle is now complete.”

Brouwer, on the other hand, has not announced whether he will continue competing with another partner just yet. If it is any indication, two weeks before the European Championship, he appeared on the Netherlands’ national tour, at an event in Arnhem, alongside 34-year-old Jan-Joost van den Bogert. They finished in fourth place.

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