David Åhman and Jonathan Hellvig were singled out as one of Sweden’s great hopes for gold.
But it has become a real flop.
And nobody knows why.
– There is no logic, says their coach, Anders Kristiansson.
The world’s hottest beach volleyball couple in recent years are Swedish and are named David Åhman and Jonathan Hellvig. A little out of nowhere, they came out and completely dominated, and in the last two years alone, the duo have won two European Championship golds, a World Cup silver – and placed themselves at the top of the world rankings.
Tough start to the Olympics
It was therefore not particularly unfair when many pointed out the duo as one of Sweden’s great medal hopes ahead of this year’s Olympics, and there were many who believed that gold was a reasonable goal. But so far in the beach volleyball tournament, it has not been possible to recognize Åhman and Hellvig.
The beach volleyball duo did indeed win the opening match in this year’s Olympics, but then an unexpected loss against Qatar followed. Yesterday, the Swedes still had the chance to secure a place in the round of 16, but then they lost in two straight sets against Italy. Sweden now still has the chance to advance to the round of 16 as one of the best three, otherwise a re-qualification awaits against another group third. It is not at all what Sweden had expected, and the road to the medal matches may now be long and tough.
The big confusion
But why are things going the way they are for the super duo? No one really seems to know. The duo’s coach, Anders Kristiansson, is really surprised by the results – and is almost resigned when he talks to SVT about it all.
– We are rested, healthy, we are not in pain anywhere. There is really no logical reason why we shouldn’t be able to play the game that has gotten us to where we are, says Anders Kristiansson.
Anders Kristiansson points out that Sweden have been easy to read so far during the tournament, and what previously made the duo so successful is missing.
– It’s too loose, we’re good at being creative otherwise, now we just do things so we don’t miss out, he says.
Sign up for our newsletter
Share