21-year-olds David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig led Sweden to a clear victory in the beach volleyball men’s Olympic qualifying tournament in Vantaa. At the Paris Olympics, they are even gold favorites.
Four young men give each other high fives with wide smiles. Sweden’s national men’s beach volleyball team is the best in the world, but the atmosphere at practice in Vantaa is anything but real. A small group of Finnish athletes organizes the game arena of the Nations Cup Olympic qualifying tournament and flashes lights while the top players hone their skills on the field for the weekend’s games.
Those who are second in the beach volleyball world list David Ohman and Jonatan Hellvig sit down on sunbeds for an interview after a well-run workout. The 21-year-old players say they are visiting Vantaa for the first time.
– We like Finland! Lake and saunas, perfect! Åhman says with a laugh.
Despite their young age, Åhman and Hellvig have been playing together for a long time and have achieved a lot. In their first season together five years ago, they won the Youth Olympic gold in Buenos Aires. Last fall, the friends won gold at the adult European Championships.
The main goal of the couple’s career so far is next summer, at the Paris Olympics. Beach volleyball medals are fought for in postcard landscapes at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Åhman and Hellvig can get a place in Paris through the world ranking, but the second route involves stopping in Vantaa.
It is the tournament of the first round of the Nations Cup, the winners of which are Åhman and Hellvig and Sweden’s second pair Jacob Hölting Nilsson / Hemp Ekstrand advanced to the second round of the Olympic qualifiers. Olympic places are being shared there.
– The Swedes are so young that improving their playing potential in the next 12 months will be really hard. I think that if no miracles happen, we will see in Paris when Sweden wins the Olympic gold, Urheilu’s expert Ilkka Lassila anneal.
On the way to the final of the tournament in Vantaa, the Swedes beat the Finnish pairs Santeri Siren and Jyrki Nurminen mixed Pekka Piipon and Vili Topion. In the final, Sweden beat Poland.
– This is a fun tournament because the format is a bit different. There are two teams from each country, so we can cheer on our other team at the same time, says Hellvig.
The innovators of beach volleyball
Åhman and Hellvig listen to their coaches by Rasmus Jonsson and Anders Kristiansson instructions and nod to each other. After all, the winning recipe has been quite simple, and by no means a secret.
– We have trained together for quite a long time, invested and believed in what we were doing. That’s why we’ve developed, says Hellvig.
– We have really good coaches who have coached us from scratch and succeeded in that, Åhman continues.
Anders Kristiansson, 73, is one of Sweden’s most legendary volleyball and beach volleyball coaches. He coached the Swedish women’s national team in 1973–1981 and the men’s national team in 1981–96. Under Kristiansson’s coaching, Sweden’s men sensationally won European Championship silver in 1989.
According to Konkariluots, Åhman and Hellvig are one of the best pairs in the world thanks to their exceptionally hard physique, ball handling skills and, above all, the Swedes’ unique way of playing. Actually, without a high individual skill level and good physique, they wouldn’t even be able to play this style of fast-paced beach volleyball. The jumping pass, which has become the couple’s trademark, is admired by the sports crowd.
– We can already hit (into the opponent’s field) with the second touch. It’s difficult to play that way, but we’ve been practicing it since we were quite young, says Åhman.
– We are quite good technically and have good ball control, so we can pass well. We can attack well. We dare to try even difficult things to give ourselves a chance to win, says Hellvig.
Åhman and Hellvig describe their playing style as quite daring and experimental. In five years, their game has developed by leaps and bounds. Since the career is probably more ahead than behind, Åhman and Hellvig believe that the evolution of their way of playing will continue in the coming years. They see the Swedes’ concept as the future of beach volleyball more comprehensively.
– I believe that it is the future of the sport. More are trying to do the same after. We also try to improve all the time. We don’t have one specific way to play either, says Hellvig.
The names of Åhman and Hellvig are currently on the lips of beach volleyball people. Young people have noticed the glow – after all, it has been seen concretely in the form of lucrative partnerships.
– Maybe there is a bit of hype around us. During the past year, we have won the European Championships and played in the finals of several tournaments. We have quickly risen to the top. And because we play a little differently than others, maybe that’s why there’s a bit of hype, Åhman admits.