PHOTO: Bildbyrån
David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig show great form ahead of the Olympics in Paris. They are one of Sweden’s biggest hopes for gold. But far from the longest.
– We are not that long in the beach volleyball world. So it is a weakness, says David Åhman.
They will play at the foot of what was once the world’s tallest building, the Eiffel Tower.
There, the star duo hopes for new top results. In a relatively short time, they have become two of the beach volleyball world’s top players.
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In 2018 they won the Youth Olympics, in 2022 they became European champions and more recently they have taken victories on the world tour – most recently in Portugal last week.
– We know that we are a strong team and we can beat any team. But it is our first Olympics and it will be very tough. Most of the other teams have played before, says David Ohman.
– There are many teams that have a chance to win and take a medal, says Jonathan Hellvig.
The strength of the duo
The 22-year-olds have been playing together since 2018 when their coach paired them up.
Their strength is their ball skills, explosiveness and a perhaps not-so-secret weapon named “Swedish jump set”.
– It assumes that we can attack already on the second strike. Or feint an attack and pass the ball out in the air. The point is that the opponent should not know who and what will attack, says Hellvig.
– So if we manage to do well, it is very difficult to defend against.
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The attack variant has gone home and they are now ranked number one in the world. Their weakness is length. Åhman is 1.89 centimeters and Hellvig 1.93 – almost 20 centimeters shorter than the tallest players in the sport.
– You could say it’s a bit of a weakness. We cannot win by jumping high and hitting hard, but we have to play fast and be safe instead, says Åhman.
– There are several who are 2.10. I would say that most teams have at least one player who is over two metres, says Hellvig.
The net height is 2.43 for men. The duo still believe they have a good chance of fighting for the medals. The Olympics have been a childhood dream for both.
– We have good chances. But at the same time we know that it is very even and there are many good teams. So it will be tough. But we must do everything we can in every match and then we will see how far it goes, says Hellvig.
– If we play well, we hope it will be enough for a medal, says Åhman.
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