Åhman/Hellvig hesitant about European Championship: "We're completely exhausted"

The euphoria surrounding the Olympic Games gold, a bruised right hand and barely any sleep at all. There are some things that speak against David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig playing the European Championship in beach volleyball in a few days. We haven't made any decision yet. But we are completely exhausted after this championship, says Åhman.

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Åhman/Hellvig hesitant about European Championship: "We're completely exhausted"
Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

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They arrived at the gold party for the first time at half past three on Sunday morning. They were home again by seven o'clock.

At 11:30, they were in place at Sweden Arena in central Paris to be celebrated by the Swedish Olympic Committee and to do more interviews.

With that background, beach volleyball heroes Jonatan Hellvig and David Åhman look incredibly fresh. The glow from the medals around their necks is certainly infectious.

An Olympic Games gold medal does make one a bit high-strung. I would guess that when we sit down on the plane home now, we will both doze off, says Åhman.

Taking the Eiffel Tower with them

Each medal also symbolically contains a piece of the Eiffel Tower, the iconic structure that served as the backdrop for the spectacular beach volleyball arena in Paris where the 22-year-old blue-and-yellows have just experienced the most intense weeks of their careers.

It has been a complete discharge. For obvious reasons, they have therefore not had time to make a final decision about the European Championship in the Netherlands, which starts on Tuesday.

But they are quite keen to defend their European Championship gold.

It's the European Championship, after all. It's a big tournament. Of course, we want to play, says Hellvig.

The question is whether they will be up to it. First, they will head home to Sweden for even more receptions and visits to various TV studios on Monday.

We haven't had time to sit still since we took the gold. People have been pulling us in all directions. We haven't really had time to sit down and talk things through, says Åhman.

Injured thumb bothers

Moreover, Hellvig injured his right hand during the Olympic Games final, where Sweden defeated Germany in two straight sets. Will it affect his play?

Yes, I got a blow on my thumb. I think I sprained it a bit and it has swollen up. It hurts quite a bit, says Jonatan Hellvig.

We'll start by checking it out, says Åhman.

Coach Rasmus Jonsson says a definitive decision about the European Championship will be made on Monday morning.

We'll make a decision then. The guys will be on some morning shows and then they'll be at the Mall of Scandinavia at one o'clock on Monday afternoon. So we'll have a meeting before that and decide how we'll do it, says Jonsson.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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