The sport of Volleyball has two Olympic disciplines:
Volleyball and Beach Volleyball. Volleyball made its Olympic
debut at the 1964 Tokyo Games and Beach Volleyball made its
Olympic debut in Atlanta in 1996.
The International Olympic Committee adopted
Volleyball as a non-Olympic sport in 1949. Eight years later,
on September 24, 1957, the IOC session in Sofia recognised
Volleyball as an Olympic sport and FIVB as the sole
worldwide Volleyball governing body in all its disciplines.
In 1961, Volleyball was added as a medal sport for men and
women at the Tokyo Games in 1964.
Tokyo 1964
Volleyball's debut at the Olympic Games in 1964 was
truly exciting. In the men's event, the well-informed
Japanese spectators and TV viewers were enthusiastic
witnesses to a captivating three-way battle between USSR,
Japan and Czechoslovakia. USSR ultimately
prevailed, pushing the Czechs into second place after
beating them in five sets halfway through the tournament.
Japan, after a surprising defeat to Hungary in the
second round, had to be content with bronze. All went as
expected in the women's event as Japan, 1962 FIVB World
Championship winners in Moscow, claimed gold. Led by
coach Hirofumi Daimatsu, the hosts beat USSR into second
place and gave up only one set in six matches, to
eventual bronze medallists Poland.
Mexico City 1968
At the 1968 Games in Mexico City the USSR
Men, with a revamped lineup that saw eight changes from
the team in Tokyo, won gold again. The Soviets started
off badly, losing 3-2 to USA, but bounced back and
toppled the reigning world champions at the time,
Czechoslovakia, in the decisive match. Japan then edged
the Czechs for second place. In the women's event, the
Soviets' physical prowess and inventiveness made sure
they were able to turn the tables on the Japanese to
finish first. The Japanese lacked a little in the
playmaking department to lose the title after a 3-1
defeat in the final match. Poland finished third.
Munich 1972
Munich 1972 was when the Japan Men's team
finally struck gold, after bronze in Tokyo and silver in
Mexico City. The magic hands of Katsutoshi Nekoda
inspired the Japanese and their gold was endangered only
in the semi-final against Bulgaria, when Japan trailed
by two sets before prevailing in a match lasting 3 hours,
40 minutes. East Germany took second place, USSR third.
In the women's grand finale, USSR outstripped Japan in
the fifth set. Never before had the two strongest teams
both so deserved the gold medal. The key match was
a spectacular show, with the agile and speedy Asians
against the powerful and service-perfect Soviets. North
Korea took bronze.
Montreal 1976
Head Coach Hubert Wagner led the Polish Men to
Olympic gold at the 1976 Games in Montreal. The
inventive Polish did away with the Soviets, who had
reached the gold-medal match without losing a single
match, and confirmed their status as best in the world
having won the FIVB World Championship in Mexico two
years earlier. Wagner's troops came back from two sets
behind in the elimination round against Korea and Cuba,
struggled in the semi-finals against the Japanese and in
the final brought applause from the 15,000 spectators in
Montreal's Coliseum by beating USSR in 2 hours, 30
minutes. Bursting onto the international stage was Cuba
with a well-deserved bronze. In the women's event, the
Soviet-Japanese seesaw at the top lost no momentum. This
time gold was won by the Asians in spectacular style: no
sets were lost and 11 of 12 sets won were with less than
10 points going to the opponents. Japan took just 55
minutes to dispose of USSR in the final. Outstanding too
were bronze medallists South Korea, led by Jo Heajung, a
formidable spiker just 1.65 metres tall.
Moscow 1980
The Western boycott (absent women's teams
included holders Japan, Korea and rising stars USA and
China) affected the fifth Olympic Women's Volleyball
Tournament, making it more of a European Championship
dominated, as usual, by USSR. Silver went to East
Germany and bronze to Bulgaria, who were called up at
the last minute. Much was expected of the Cubans but
they disappointed. On the men's side, the boycott didn't
mean as much upheaval. Six of the top eight competing at
the 1978 FIVB World Championship in Rome took part, and,
in line with the forecasts, Head Coach Viacheslav
Platonov's USSR took the title, losing only two sets in
the course of the whole tournament. Runners-up were
Bulgaria (silver) and Romania (bronze).
Los Angeles 1984
The political withdrawal of the Eastern
countries from the 1984 Los Angeles Games did not
significantly damage the women's tournament (Cuba and
USSR, the biggest of the absentees, had finished only
fifth and sixth at the FIVB World Championship in 1982).
The event saw a fascinating dual between debutantes
China and hosts USA. The Asians pulled the same trick
they had at the FIVB World Championship in Peru
– after
losing in the preliminary stage to USA they won in the
final. It was a tremendous blow for the stars-and-stripes
super team. On an individual level, China's Ping Lang
stood head and shoulders above the rest. In the men's
tournament, USSR, Cuba, Poland and Bulgaria were missing
for political reasons. Two months before the start,
Italy, China, South Korea and Tunisia were assigned as
replacements. The hosts were the winners, silver
medallists were Brazil and bronze medallists Italy.
Seoul 1988
In South Korea in 1988, the only high-profile
absentees were the men's and women's Cuban teams as the
Olympic Games got back to normal in Seoul. In the men's
tournament, 12 teams competed (something that had not
happened since 1972) and the final results almost
accurately mirrored the outcome of the 1986 FIVB World
Championship in Paris, with USA on top, USSR second and
a Brazilian band of "veterans" fourth. It was Argentina
who pulled off a surprise third-place finish, though,
with Bulgaria
– who were third
in Paris
– finishing
sixth. The Netherlands finished fifth. In the women's
event, USSR started off by stumbling against Japan
(19-17 in the fifth set) but came back in style,
shutting out the Chinese champions in the semi-finals
(the first set ended 15-0) and coming from behind in a
spectacular final against Peru. China's third place
marked the end of a fantastic winning streak in
international competition that had began in 1981.
Barcelona 1992
Brazil's Men claimed their first Olympic gold
in Barcelona in 1992, losing only three sets in eight
matches, after the four "favourites" all failed to hit
top gear: reigning world champions Italy and CIS (formerly
USSR) went out in the quarter-finals, returning Cuba and
outgoing champion USA lost in the semi-finals, although
USA claimed bronze. The Netherlands won silver after a
disappointing start that saw them lose three matches and
finish fourth in the group phase. On the women's side,
Cuba claimed gold, the Caribbean team finishing unbeaten
with their most difficult match coming in the
semi-finals against USA (where they came back from 2-1
down). USSR finished second and USA third. The Asian
teams didn't fare well at all, with Japan fifth and
China seventh.
Atlanta 1996
With the likes of the Van de Goor brothers
Bas and Mike and Peter Blangé, a strong Netherlands
Men's outfit reached the pinnacle of their time together
as a team by claiming Olympic gold, beating Italy,
whose ranks included the likes of Andrea Zorzi, Samuele
Papi and Andrea Giani, in the final in a five-setter.
Yugoslavia made a statement of intent when, led by the
Grbic brothers Vladimir and Nikola, they claimed bronze.
In the women's tournament, Cuba retained their gold, the
second of three-in-a-row for the likes of Regla Torres,
one of the greatest players ever to grace the game. The
Cubans beat China in the final, with Brazil claiming the
bronze medal.
Sydney 2000
The Cuban Women did what seemed the
impossible by claiming their third-straight Olympic gold
in Sydney, a stunning achievement that will be tough to
match in the future. It was the culmination of an
astonishing run that saw two FIVB World Championship
golds 1994 and 1998 in between the Olympic triumphs in
1992, 1996 and 2000. The Cubans beat Russia into the
silver medal position, with Brazil picking up their
second-straight bronze medal. On the men's side,
Yugoslavia improved on their bronze medal in Atlanta by
claming gold, the Grbic brothers Nikola and Vladimir,
Goran Vujevic and a young Ivan Miljkovic combining to
devastating effect. Russia finished in second place and
Italy third.
Athens 2004
The Chinese
Women pulled off an astonishing
turnaround to beat Russia and win Olympic gold at the
Peace and Friendship Stadium in Athens. Trailing by two
sets, China hauled themselves back into the match to win
3-2. It marked the end of an excellent 12 months for the
Chinese, who had won the FIVB World Cup and FIVB World
Grand Prix in 2003. It was even more of a triumph for
Head Coach Zhonghe Chen's team considering they were
missing Ruirui Zhao, one of their star players, for most
of the tournament through injury. Cuba's run of three
straight golds may have come to an end but they consoled
themselves with the bronze medal courtesy of beating
Brazil 3-1. The Brazilian
Men, on the other hand, lived
up to their tag as favourites by claiming their second
Olympic gold after their 1992 success. Most Valuable
Player Giba was the star of the tournament as the
Brazilians, who had won the 2002 FIVB World Championship,
2003 FIVB World Cup and 2003 and 2004 FIVB World League,
put the icing on the cake for Head Coach Bernardo
Rezende with a 3-1 win over Italy in the gold-medal
final. Russia swept USA 3-0 to claim bronze.
Beijing 2008
USA
Men kept the momentum from their FIVB World League
triumph in Rio in July 2008 in their run to the
gold-medal match, where they beat 2004 Athens champions
Brazil for their first Olympic title in 20 years. Their
female
compatriots surprised many with their own run to the
final and but for the world No. 1 Brazilians
–
as close to perfection as could be throughout the
tournament, dropping just one set in the final to USA
–
it would have been a golden sweep for America. The
Americans had two non-natives to thank for their
success: men's Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon of New Zealand
and women's Head Coach "Jenny" Ping Lang, the former
Chinese national team player and Head Coach known as the
"Iron Hammer" who played and won against USA in 1984,
the American women's only previous attempt at gold. It
was an astonishing turnaround for the U.S. players and
testament to the strength of the coaches' mental and
tactical strengths. The men's team had just two years
before finished in 10th place in the FIVB World
Championships and World League, while the women's team
ended up ninth at the 2006 World Championships. The
Brazilian Women, meanwhile, had Head Coach Jose Roberto Guimaraes to thank for their omnipotent performance. "Ze
Roberto" became the first coach to lead teams to Olympic
gold in both the men's and women's tournaments following
his Barcelona 1992 triumph with the Brazil Men's team.
Russia claimed bronze in the men's event, China took
bronze in the women's.
London 2012 ...
The Volleyball venue in 2012 will be the famous
Earls Court exhibition centre in West London.
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