David
Åhman
Sweden
·
Beach Volleyball
Date of birth | December 20, 2001 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Umeå, Sweden |
Age | 24 |
Nationality | Sweden |
Career start | 2012 |
Disciplines | Beach Volleyball |
Åhman and Hellvig have catapulted themselves onto the elite beach volleyball scene, taking multiple big wins against some of the best teams in the world.
The Swedish duo, trained by Rasmus Jonsson and Anders Kristiansson, have together developed and mastered a technique called Swedish Jump Set. It's based on a two-touch game rather than the traditional three-touch, and it means that the duo can attack on the second and third touch, which makes their game difficult to read and confuses their opponents. The duo are the only team in the world to use it.
Originally from the city of Umeå, Åhman has been playing high-level volleyball from a young age. In 2016, at just 14 years old, the defence player was picked up by national team captain Jonsson and, two years later, paired up with hitter Hellvig.
Quickly becoming a strong team, the duo won the 2018 Under-18 European Championships as well as the Youth Olympics. The following three years saw them become Swedish champions and win the Under-20 and Under-22 European Championships, along with the Under-21 World Championships.
Their 2022 season saw the duo leap towards the top of the international circuit, winning their first two elite competitions in the Beach Pro Tour Challenge and becoming the youngest ever European Champions. They took a total of six podium spots, which saw them climb into the Top 10 elite world rankings.
The following years have seen them eclipse even that level of performance: victory in the Beach Tour Pro Finals in Doha meant the duo were named 2023 champions, before taking their red-hot form into Paris 2024, where they swept through the Olympic beach volleyball competition to claim a gold medal each, defeating the German duo of Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler in the final.
Eyeing up some big goals on the horizon, the duo look set to keep dominating at the top of their game.