FACTOIDS
Full Name: Okka Rau
Nickname: Okka
Birthday: January 5, 1977
Height: 5'11"
Hometown: Kiel, Germany
Sports: Volleyball
PROFILE
Together for their fourth season now, 2003 European champions Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau are eager to collect as many points as they can on the 2004 Swatch–FIVB World Tour order to improve on their 10th place finish in the 2003 official world rankings table.
A stable presence on last season’s Tour, this powerful pair reached a couple of quarterfinals, (in Germany and France) while managing to make the round of 16 three times (in Japan, Italy and at the World Championships in Brazil). The highlight for team Pohl-Rau, however, was their spectacular triumph at the European Championships in Turkey.
“We didn't believe that we could win,” a delighted Rau said after the final in which they beat their compatriots Andrea Ahmann and Jana Vollmer 21-19, 21-19. “The season was very tough and we had some injury problems but at the European Championships, everything went well. It was simply a perfect tournament for us.”
Both skiing enthusiasts, Pohl and Rau, an FIVB women’s athlete advisor, play with an abundance of energy and they never allow their opponents to settle. They have been learning and growing as a team since the 2001 season and are always a promising outside prospect going into every Swatch-FIVB World Tour event.
