They will keep going! Reigning world champions Ondrej Perusic & David Schweiner had been keeping it an open question whether or not they will continue their professional beach volleyball journey after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but now they have announced their decision with a press release. The top Czech pair will slow down to be able to dedicate more time to life outside the sport, but will continue to compete internationally, with next year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship in Australia set as their next big target.

“We had several options of how to continue, and in the end we all agreed that it is not quite time to hang up our tank tops yet,” blocker Schweiner said. “But we want to adjust our sports regime. We have to adapt our training and game plans in such a way that we take better care of our decaying bodies, but above all, after eight years of nomadic life, we can devote more time to our loved ones. After all, lately we have spent much more time together with Perun than with our wives.”

The two 30-year-old athletes have been competing together internationally since 2016. Before that, Perusic had been appearing at age-group world and European championships since 2012. The duo collected two golds, five silvers and a bronze on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, and then another four golds and three silvers on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. They also picked up a CEV European Championship silver in 2022. Perusic & Schweiner are two-time Olympians, having qualified for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, but the top achievement of their beach volleyball journey so far has been the 2023 World Championship title they conquered in Tlaxcala, Mexico. They have reached as high as the number three spot in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Ranking, but currently, the Czech pair is in number 22.

“For me, the main priority is to combine the sport with family and work life. That's why at the moment we're really only setting a goal for next season and we'll see how we can do it,” said defender Perusic.

In fact, Perusic & Schweiner were contemplating retirement from the sport back in 2021, after their Olympic debut in Tokyo, as they wanted to commit more time to their academic endeavours, but then they decided they would go for another full Olympic cycle. This time, however, they are only aiming at the 2025 World Championship, set to take place next November in Adelaide.

“Four years is too long, so it would not even be fair to announce bold plans towards the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. We will plan our next steps gradually. Now we want to qualify for the World Championship and after that we'll see what's next,” Schweiner added.

Perusic & Schweiner will continue to be part of the Czech national team, which will also feature the pairings of Jakub Sepka & Jiri Sedlak and Tadeas Trousil & Matyas Dzavoronok, all training under Italian coach Andrea Tomatis.

“We will try to support our training partners in this group and pass some experience on to them. Hopefully, we can keep up with the youngsters for some time. After all, they are significantly more flexible and cleverer than us,” Perusic commented with a smile.

Perusic & Schweiner will not take part in next week’s Rio de Janeiro Elite16 Beach Pro Tour event in Brazil, but are keen on returning to competitive action in December, hoping to receive a wild card for the Beach Pro Tour Finals in Doha.

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