When it was time for Kings of the Court Sweden’s biggest poster name stepped forward. David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvigreigning world and Olympic champion, delivered at the very highest level. The duo won the opening semi-final round in style and progressed to the final without any problems.
There they were soon joined by their training buddies, the WC silver medalists Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson, who in the second semi brought down perhaps the biggest cheer of the day when, in the last, shaking ball, they managed to secure the final place at the expense of the English Bello brothers.
In the high-octane final – where Norwegian world number one Mol/Sorum, Austria’s Berger/Hammarberg and wildcard-awarded Bello/Bello also took their place – the contestants put on a perfect show. Bellos x 2 was the first to be knocked out – and then Jacke and Elmer also had to thank for themselves.
The final round of the final was finally dominated by Åhman/Hellvig. Completely! The duo took point after point on the “kingside” and managed to reach the match-winning 15 points well before time expired, while the opponents parked at a point each.
– We had the best support from the audience, that’s what gave us the energy to win this, says David Åhman to SVT Link to other website, opens in new window. after the ruling.
When the match ball was kicked in, the Avicii Arena exploded. The crowd rose and hailed the Swedish winners as kings of Stockholm. With crowns resting on their heads, David and Jonatan danced together with the entire arena – an image that will live on for a long time in Swedish beach volleyball’s memory bank.
– It’s ten out of ten, it can’t get any better than this. Such a damn good event and so many people here, says Jonatan Hellvig further in SVT’s victory interview.
Stockholm Beach in the Avicii Arena thus became more than just a competition. It was a manifestation of the sport’s growing popularity in Sweden, where the record crowds, the Swedish successes and the electric atmosphere together pointed to a bright future for beach volleyball on home soil.
