Photo: SVT, Bildbyrån
That David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig did not win the Jerring prize was perhaps not a super shock.
Their coach Anders Kristiansson was prepared that they would not have a chance because of their sport.
– So then it will be those who get the most TV time and the most media space who win, he says to SVT.
In the end it was the table tennis player Truls Möregårdh22, who won the final against Armand Duplantis25, in the fight for the Jerring Prize. On shaky legs, he went up and received the most prestigious award at the Sports Gala.
– You will hear an impromptu speech here. Thank you very much. It is truly a state of shock. I want to thank all of Sweden for all the support throughout this year, it was absolutely fantastic. So fun to see all the ping pong fever that has been created in Sweden, he said from the stage.
Kristiansson’s performance at the Sports Gala
One who claims to have figured out the outcome in advance is the beach volleyball coach Anders Kristiansson. His adepts David Ohman and Jonathan Hellvig were also nominated for the award, but according to him, they never had a chance to win. He already said that before the gala.
– No, unfortunately I don’t think so. The explanation is that volleyball and beach volleyball have far too little media time. And those who vote like that is what you get via the media, television and so on. It’s not beach volleyball or volleyball on TV every week, barely every month. Then you won’t be as famous and therefore they won’t win, he says in SVT and then suggests that the favorites Truls and “Mondo” have too great an advantage:
READ MORE: Truls Möregårdh deserves the Jerring Prize more than Armand Duplantis
– So then it will be those who get the most TV time and the most media space who win. So it’s Duplantis and Truls who win. Unfortunately. Not unfortunately that they win, but unfortunately for our sake. So it’s not a level playing field.
The coach’s call to the media
The coach is critical of the fact that the sport he represents receives so little media coverage in Sweden, despite the fact that volleyball is the sport in the world with the largest number of players (800 million). Second on the list in the world is basketball, which has approximately 450 million players.
– I think that maybe there is too little knowledge about our sport and then you don’t want to do those reports. Volleyball and beach volleyball are by far the world’s biggest sports. It’s twice the size of basketball, football, table tennis, you name it. But in Sweden it is a fairly small sport and there are large media that have weekly reports on handball, for example. There is never anyone who writes about volleyball or beach volleyball, he says.
READ MORE: Olof Lundh’s criticism of SVT after the decision on the Sports Gala
That Åhman/Hellvig won the Team of the Year award at the Sports Gala was not enough for Kristiansson. He wants to see a fundamental change. That more Swedish newspapers and TV channels increase their coverage.
– We don’t have anyone when we go to the world tour final, there is no Swedish journalist who is with us. Then you get quite a bit of attention and therefore my conclusion is that unfortunately David and Jonathan will not win the Jerring Prize. Although I wish they could win, he says.
What do you say about this? Is he correct in his analysis? Please write a comment and tell us what you think!
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