Room service helping Kohn siblings live the volleyball dream

BERLIN - While many German student-athletes are enjoying the advantage of having friends and family nearby, volleyball players Simon and Hannah Kohn (GER) have taken home support at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games to another level.

The siblings from the host nation’s men’s and women’s teams were surprised to find they had adjacent rooms in their Berlin hotel, making it even easier to support each other during the Games.

”It’s amazing,” Simon Kohn, 20, told the FISU Games News Service (FGNS). “We almost had the chance two years ago in China (at the FISU World University Games in Chengdu).

”I didn’t make the team then, but she (Hannah, pictured above) was there and told me so many nice things about that tournament.”

Realising what Simon calls a ”once-in-a-lifetime chance”, he has been able to get help from his 22-year-old sister next door during the tournament.

”She always tries to hype me up and give me a good feeling, especially in the mental part because that is probably where I struggle the most,” the outside hitter said.

“She is pretty good at it and tries to help me whenever she can push me. We trained together at home before the tournament and do a good job at helping each other out.”

FAMILY AFFAIR

Born to volleyball-playing parents in Ulm in southern Germany, it was no surprise that the siblings followed in their footsteps at an early age.

”We had all the support we needed from the beginning. We went to the sport halls every weekend with my parents, to play with the ball so early,” Simon said.

”It helped a lot to have the whole family sharing the same hobby and, now, the same job. If there are people understanding what you’re doing this for, it just makes everything so much better.”

The younger brother was the first to start playing club volleyball, while Hannah explored other sporting options.

”I was always doing gymnastics but then I got too tall for that,” setter Hannah said. “So I also went to volleyball and since then we have always been competing.”

”We played with a balloon, or a ball, or whatever. We played indoors sometimes, and our parents were quite worried, but nothing got broken.

“Of course, there were a lot of arguments and fighting when we were younger but it is so fun and I am so proud to see him playing, growing and having so much fun.

”My brother and I have a really good connection because we are really close by age.”

MEDAL HOPE

Having lost their quarter-final to Japan on Monday, Simon and the German men’s team are now fighting for fifth place, but Hannah and the German women’s team face Brazil in the bronze medal match on Wednesday.

And although the Kohn’s parents, who made a return journey of almost 1,400km by car over the weekend to watch their children in action, will not be back in the stands this week, Hannah knows she will have one of her biggest fans close by.

”I hope they can win it,” Simon said. ”If one in the family can get a medal, that would be great.”

Beach volleyball continues in Berlin on Tuesday. Tickets are available here.

FGNS pl/pg/mb

Photo: © Jaroslav Svoboda / Rhine-Ruhr 2025