Jump set, how the new beach volleyball shot that Sweden used to win gold at the Olympics works

Squashed towards the future. On the sand at the foot of the Eiffel Tower the Swedes David Ahman e Jonathan Hellvig they serve the revolution of beach volley. Golden hair, like the medal won against the Germans Nils Ehlers e Clemens Wickler ai Paris Gamesthe 2001 class duo has overturned the traditional reception-set-slam formula. How?

How does the jump set work?

As in volleyball, in beach volleyball there are three touches available. Not for Ahman and Hellvig. Or rather, not always. To score a point, they often only need two hits. Let’s see why. After receiving, the setter jumps as if he were going to spike. The fake disorients the opponents, who do not expect the spike anticipated on the second touch. At that point the defender does not know whether to block the probable attack of the setter or that of his teammate (in case of a third touch). In essence, only if the opponent blocks the setter, the Swedes exploit the third touch. But the result remains the same: a spike without a block and a point assured.

What is jump set?

The name of the technique? Jump set (jumping lift). In this way, Ahman and Hellvig have reached the top of the world in the space of two years. Because before the historic Olympic gold (the first for Sweden in beach volleyball), they dominated the European Championships in 2022 and 2023, as well as winning silver at the World Championships in Mexico last year. Enough to conquer the first place in the ranking. “This style adds an element of surprise, because the opposing team’s wall does not know which of us will attack,” explained Ahman himself in an interview with sponsor Red Bull.

How to perform a jump set

The shot seems simple only in appearance. To succeed, a perfect reception is needed, which allows the setter to be able to spike suddenly. The only way to disarm the trap would be a very powerful serve. So beach volleyball changes face: “Now you don’t have to be taller than two meters to win, just exploit other strengths”, continues the Swede. In fact, at least one of the two winning players in the last editions of the Olympics was taller than two meters. Ahman and Hellvig, 189 and 192 centimeters tall respectively, have changed the history of the sport. Thanks to a revolutionary leap, this time too: after the “Fosbury flop” in athletics, here is the “Swedish jump set”. Even if the Swedes were not the first to experiment with it (it seems that the inspiration came on the Australian beaches), they have perfected and systematized it. They have been using it since 2018, the year in which they started playing together, encouraged by their coaches Rasmus Jonsson e Anders Kristiansson.

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Sweden wins gold in beach volleyball

A winning intuition, which does not abandon them even in the most difficult moments of the matches, when the counter-revolution knocks on the door and the style becomes traditional again. But “our coaches say that we must always believe, even in these situations”, concludes Ahman. Also because the obstacles are now disappearing. This is demonstrated by the two sets won in the final against the Germans, left at zero. Curious that in the group stage they were beaten twice, both by the Italians Samuel Cottafava e Paul Nicolai that from the Qatari couple Cherif-Ahmed. The last falls before the leap into the sky, to look at the world from the top of the Eiffel Tower.