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 RUS/RUSSIA
If statistics are any guide to
women’s Volleyball,Russia – once known as the Soviet
Union – has to be the greatest team ever. Just look
at their four gold (1968, 1972, 1980,1988) and four
silver (1964, 1976, 1992, 2000) Olympic medals,
their five World Championship titles (1952, 1956,
1960, 1970, 1990), their three Grand Prix titles,
plus one World Cup and 17 gold medals in the
European Championships (1949,1950, 1951, 1958, 1963,
1967, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1979,1985, 1989, 1991, 1993,
1997, 1999, 2001). And the remarkable
thing is that after so
long at the top, they’re not dizzy!
Since the inception of Russian women’s Volleyball in
1949 (at the time called USSR) there has been no
other country, which has matched them for results.
Tall, lean and formidable have been the
characteristics which have dominated this country
over the years and in 2004 it is no different. They
have a formidable quartet in attack, able to
dealwith anything that comes their way – Evgenia
Artamonova, Elizaveta Tichchenko, Anastasia Belikova,
and the lethal Ekaterina Gamova.
Twenty-three-year-old Gamova stands at an incredible
204cm and is the best illustration of Russia’s
potency and demonstrates the hurdle, both physical
and psychological, that other teams must overcome
when opposing this Russian team.
Their third-place finish at the 2002 World
Championship was a surprise for not only Russia but
the rest of the Volleyball community after heading
into the tournament as favourites on the back of the
2002 World Grand Prix success. Add to that a fifth
place finish at the 2003 European Championships and
their failure to qualify for the 2003 World Cup and
some may feel this team has entered something of a
rut.
Having lost in the Sydney Olympic Games final 3-2 to
Cuba,Russia extended their ‘losing sequence’ without
an Olympic gold medal to 16 years. But there is no
doubting that in 2004, with such a powerful lineup
and rich history in the sport, Russia are one of the
favourites to add to their Olympic medal collection
in Athens. |
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