As qualifiers via European continental process, both Bockermann and Fluggen will be playing in their first FIVB World Championships. As Germany’s lone men’s entry in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Bockermann and Fluggen placed 19th in the Copacabana competition. Bockermann first appeared on the FIVB World Tour in 2008 with Fluggen’s first match on the international circuit being in 2013. Since April 2016, Fluggen has been hampered with knee problems that forced him to miss two FIVB World Tour events with Bockermann along with forfeiting four matches during competition. A gold medal in Fuzhou (China) at the start of the 2015 season helped launch the Germans’ bid for an Olympic berth as the pair ended the season with back-to-back silver medal finishes in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) and China (Xiamen). Bockermann and Fluggen also won a FIVB gold medal at a 2016 stop in Qatar.