The World Tour in beach volleyball is located in João Pessoa in northeastern Brazil. On Monday, a man in his 40s was shot to death in the city, right next to the arena where the tournament is to be decided.
The Swedish Olympic gold medalists from Paris 2024, David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig, are on site in Brazil to participate in the World Tour and have been informed about the incident.
This is supposed to be a fairly safe city compared to Rio. So you become obviously surprised when something like this happens. It's a bit scary, says David Åhman to the evening newspaper.
The duo arrived in João Pessoa on Monday evening local time, and have not yet trained at the arena.
But it's clear that it's not fun at all. I don't really know what to say, it's scary. We have never experienced this before, and yet we have been here many times before, says Jonatan Hellvig.
The competition management for the event has assured the athletes that security will be increased around the competition.
You get a bit scared when things like this happen. We have to take the safe before the unsafe and not be out in the evenings. It feels at least nice that they increase security, says Åhman.
The Swedish beach volleyball talents Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson also participate in the World Tour in João Pessoa.
The tournament is played between 17–21 September.
