PARIS (AP) - A pair of 22-year-old Swedes has risen to the top of the beach volleyball world with an innovative technique that could prove to be as revolutionary as the forward pass in football or high jumping's Fosbury Flop.
‘Swedish Jump-Set’ helps world’s top beach volleyball team reach the medal round at Paris Olympics
PARIS (AP) - A pair of 22-year-old Swedes has risen to the top of the beach volleyball world with an innovative technique that could prove to be as revolutionary as the forward pass in football or high jumping's Fosbury Flop.
The "Swedish Jump-Set," as it has become known, is a move in which the player jumps as if to spike the ball but instead sets it to his partner. The misdirection forces the opponent to leave his feet, so that he is out of position when the ball is actually passed.
"We call it the modern style of beach volleyball," Australia's Mark Nicolaidis said after losing to the Swedish team of David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig in the preliminary stage at the Paris Olympics. "Every sport gets to a point where what's been working for the last five, 10, 20 years doesn't work anymore. There have to be some people that innovate the game.
"Some of the work they've been doing was a big risk when they first came on the tour," Nicolaidis said. "They've crafted a really good game style and it's been working consistently for the past few years."