Jump-setting Swedes beat Germany to win the Olympic beach volleyball gold medal

PARIS (AP) — Jump-setting Swedes David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig aren't the types to take their time.

The beach volleyball pioneers were the No. 1 team in the world by 22, an age when many of their competitors hadn't even switched from the indoor game to the sand. And when Ahman and Hellvig reached the final at their first Olympics, they didn't need long to claim the gold medal.

Sweden dispatched Germany in 36 minutes to win the men's beach volleyball championship at the Paris Games on Saturday night, beating Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler 21-10, 21-13 in the final competition at the Eiffel Tower Stadium.

One night after the Brazilian women beat Canada for gold in a tense three-setter, the men’s championship was completely lacking in suspense.

“Everything just worked for us. And I still don’t believe how we managed to play that well, actually,” Hellvig said. “And then the match was just over.”

It was the second-fastest match of the men's competition and the biggest blowout (not counting the one injury forfeit). And it came in the most important game of the Olympics.

“I would love to fight more, to have a closer match,” Wickler said. “We played many games against them — also very close. We never lost that hard against them. And on this stage, it’s very disappointing for sure.”

The quick and lopsided match gave the Swedes in the crowd of 13,000 under the twinkling lights of the iconic Parisian landmark a head start on the party.

With faces painted in yellow and blue, they waved flags and chanted in Swedish for the first Olympic beach volleyball medal in the nation's history. When it was over, the venue DJ cranked up the ABBA and the fans sang along.

Mamma Mia, indeed.

“We wanted to do our best game of the year, right now in front of this amazing crowd, in front of so many people. And everybody’s watching,” the 6-foot-11 (2.11 meter) Ehlers said. “And I think, maybe, that’s kind of the problem.”

The Swedes used an innovative style to reach the finals of seven consecutive major international tournaments, propelling them this spring to No. 1 in the world rankings. With a “Swedish jump-set,” the player jumps to spike and passes instead — but only sometimes — forcing opponents to defend against both at the same time.

The pair struggled in the preliminary round, losing two of their three group stage matches. They needed three sets to beat Cuba in the round of 16 but never lost another set — and only trailed once, briefly, in the next three matches.

On septuple match point Saturday night, Ahman sent a second-touch kill shot into the corner for the game winner.

“When we we got the last point in, I just couldn’t believe it,” he said. “Like, looking over at the scoreboard like, ‘Oh, we we just won. What happened?’”

The silver is Germany's first men's beach volleyball medal since winning gold at the 2012 London Games, though the women won it all in Rio de Janeiro four years later.

“The moment we got the medal around our neck, it feels amazing. And even the next moment we remember what we’ve done in the final and feel sad again. So it’s an up and down,” Ehlers said. “I think it needs more time to realize and to appreciate more what we’ve done the last two weeks.”

Wickler was only one in the match with previous Olympic experience, finishing fifth in Tokyo. The same year, Ahman and Hellvig won a world championship — the under-21 world championship.

“The last few years, our development and improvements as a team has been so fast,” Hellvig said. “We don’t really know how we did it, but it just feels amazing.”

Earlier Saturday, Norway won 21-13, 21-16 over Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, who won the bronze medal in Tokyo. It was the second medal-winning Olympics in a row for Anders Mol and Christian Sorum and a proud medal haul for Scandinavian countries known more for snow than sand.

In the women’s bracket, Brazil won gold one Olympiad after the sport’s spiritual home was shut out for the first time since beach volleyball was added to the Summer Games in 1996. No such luck for the Americans, who won seven of the first 12 gold medals on the sand: They were shut out for the first time in history.

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This story has been corrected to show that Germany only won the men's gold medal in 2012. A previous version said that the country swept the men's and women's.

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Sweden's Jonatan Hellvig, left, and Sweden's David Ahman, right, celebrate after winning the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Norway's Anders Berntsen Mol serves to Qatar during the beach volleyball men•s bronze medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Qatar's Ahmed Tijan, left, scores a point against Norway during the beach volleyball men's bronze medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Qatar's Ahmed Tijan spikes the ball against Norway during the beach volleyball men's bronze medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Norway's Anders Berntsen Mol, right, and Norway's Christian Sandlie Sorum celebrate after beating Qatar to win the beach volleyball men's bronze medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Germany's Nils Ehlers, left, and Germany's Clemens Wickler in action during the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Sweden's David Ahman celebrates winning a point during the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

during the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Sweden's Jonatan Hellvig, left, and Sweden's David Ahman, right, celebrate after winning the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Spectators watch from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower after the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Swedish fans celebrate after Sweden's David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig won the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Germany's Nils Ehlers, right, and Germany's Clemens Wickler react during the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Germany's Nils Ehlers, left, and Germany's Clemens Wickler react after losing the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Sweden's David Ahman, facing, embraces Sweden's Jonatan Hellvig after winning the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Sweden's David Ahman, bottom, and Sweden's Jonatan Hellvig celebrate after winning the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Sweden's David Ahman celebrates after winning the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Sweden's Jonatan Hellvig, left, and Sweden's David Ahman, right, celebrate after winning the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Sweden's Jonatan Hellvig spikes the ball past Germany's Nils Ehlers during the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Sweden's David Ahman, facing, embraces Sweden's Jonatan Hellvig after winning the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Sweden's David Ahman dives to get the ball during the beach volleyball men's gold medal match between Sweden and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is quieter on Friday, and U.S. stocks are edging back from the records they set the day before during a worldwide rally.

The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower in morning trading but still on track for its fifth winning week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 71 points, or 0.2%, after it likewise set an all-time high the day before. The Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.

FedEx dragged on the market with a drop of 14.8% after its profit and revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. It said U.S. customers sent fewer packages through priority services, while it had to contend with higher wages for workers and other costs. FedEx also cut its forecast for revenue growth for its fiscal year.

Helping to limit the market's losses was Nike, which ran 5.4% higher after it named Elliott Hill as its chief executive. Hill, 60, had spent more than three decades at Nike in various leadership positions before retiring in 2020. He replaces the retiring John Donahoe.

Shares in Trump Media and Technology Group slumped another 6.8% as its biggest shareholder, former President Donald Trump, won the freedom to sell his shares if he wants.

Trump owns more than half of the nearly $3 billion company behind the Truth Social platform. But Trump and other insiders in the company had been unable to cash in because a “lock-up agreement” prevented them from selling any of their shares. Before the lockup expired, Trump said he was in no rush to sell.

TMTG stock has dropped below $14 from more than $60 in March, and its decline Friday was in line with its volatile history. Over the last six months, it’s often swung by at least 5% in a day, up or down.

Homebuilder Lennar fell 4.6% after delivering a mixed earnings report. Its profit for the latest quarter topped expectations. But it also said it made less in profit on each $100 of home sales, and it expects that margin to stay flat in the current quarter.

Conditions may be set to improve for homebuilders, though. The Federal Reserve earlier this week cut its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years, with more likely to come. That could make mortgages more affordable for home buyers.

The momentous move closed the door on a run where the Fed kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high in hopes of slowing the U.S. economy enough to stamp out high inflation. Now that inflation has fallen from its peak two summers ago, Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed can focus more on keeping the job market solid and the economy out of a recession.

The Fed is still under pressure because hiring has begun to slow under the weight of higher interest rates. Some critics say the central bank waited too long to cut rates and may have damaged the economy.

Critics also say the U.S. stock market may be running too hot on hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to pull off what earlier seemed nearly impossible: getting inflation down to 2% without creating a recession.

Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel, is still calling for a sharp drop for the S&P 500 by the end of the year. He points to how much faster stock prices have climbed than profits at companies. When stocks have looked this expensive on such measures in the past, he said a recession and sharp downturn for stocks has followed.

He also warned in a report that slowing hiring “is now symbolic of recession risk.”

No economic releases are on the calendar for Friday to show where the economy may be heading. Next week will have preliminary reports on U.S. business activity, the final revision for how quickly the economy grew during the summer and the latest update on spending by U.S. consumers.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.75% from 3.72% late Thursday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes dropped across much of Europe after rising in Asia. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.5% after the Bank of Japan left interest rates steady, as was expected.

In China, the central bank left key lending rates unchanged on Friday. Indexes rose by 1.4% in Hong Kong and less than 0.1% in Shanghai.

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AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

A bus passes the Wall St. subway station on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Trader Michale Conlon, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's news conference appears on a television screen behind him, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index and Japanese Yen exchange rate at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People ride bicycles in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)