It is hardly the Swedish beach volleyball traditions that lie behind the Olympic gold in Paris. But while the countries where the sport was invented and developed – such as the USA and Brazil – continued in old tracks, Sweden saw potential for improvement.
If by Sweden one means Anders Kristiansson and Rasmus Jonsson, the coaches behind the "Swedish jump set", the playing style that has made 22-year-olds David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig the world's best beach volleyball team.
I and Anders sat and brainstormed on how beach volleyball can be played in the future and how we could add an attacker against the opponent's only blocker, says Rasmus Jonsson.
Incredibly difficult to read
They came up with the idea that with a perfect serve reception, you can decide directly on the second ball instead of, as usual, passing once more.
Åhman was 14 years old when Jonsson discovered him. Two years later, in 2018, he found the perfect partner in Hellvig.
Since then, the duo has refined the "Swedish jump set" to near perfection.
When we push the ball further and can attack already on the second ball, we get two attackers against one blocker. That makes him have to choose whether he should block the second ball or go out and take the jump-pass in the air, says Jonsson.
Is the technique so good that you could have taught any players? No, answers Anders Kristiansson. Well, it could have worked with someone else, but Åhman and Hellvig are also unique.
Unusually short
Actually, they are too short for the world top – Hellvig is 194 cm tall, Åhman is 190 – but by submitting to the playing idea, they have been rewarded with double European Championship gold and World Championship silver. And now an Olympic gold medal.
We think that David is a bit special in his coordination and body awareness. If you have that, you can make many shots in many directions, says Kristiansson.
And Jonatan is very intelligent. He is KTH's best student, even though he puts 100 percent into beach volleyball. I have had thousands of players who do not understand, who need something very simple: Do this! But Jonatan understands physics and math, that's what sports are about.
How proud are you of having come up with this?
Rasmus Jonsson laughs briefly before answering:
Of course, you are super proud. At the same time, you wonder all the time how you can make this better.
