David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig were one of the biggest Swedish gold hopes before the Olympics.
But in the group stage, they had a tough time at times, losing two out of three games.
Olympics in Paris 2024
Jonatan Hellvig and David Åhman about the match ball in the Olympic semi-final: “Best block ever!”
Today’s Olympic highlights 9 August
Won in two straight sets
One of those losses was to the Qatari duo of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, who won 2–1 in sets when they met.
But tonight they took revenge, when they won in two straight sets at the illuminated Eiffel Tower.
– So very sick! We’ve been dreaming about this since we started playing together. The dream was to get to the Olympics first, and that we are now going to the finals… It’s really quite unbelievable, says Åhman to SVT Sport.
Clear victory in the first set
They won the final by impressing at times. In the first set, they went up 5–2 early. They never let go of that lead, but extended regularly and eventually took the set 21–13.
In the second set, things began to be more difficult, and the Qataris were up to a four-point lead on a couple of occasions.
The king in place
But when 10-11 down, Åhman made a magical save, and after that there was never any talk about it.
See the rescue in the clip above
Sweden then took back the lead, and were never really in a bad place after that.
In the end, they won the second set 21-17, in front of King Carl XVI Gustaf – and Sweden is ready for the Olympic final on Saturday, when the German duo Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler awaits.
– We have trained a lot with and played against them several times. They know us well and we know them well. They play a very good match in the semi-final and they are an incredibly good team so it will be a tough match in the final, says Åhman, and continues:
– We cannot expect a free match, but we must play our absolute best if we are to have any chance.
With the victory, Sweden’s first ever Olympic medal in beach volleyball is secured.