Volleyball at the Summer Olympics

Volleyball at the Summer Olympics
IOC Discipline CodeVVO
Governing bodyFIVB
Events2 (men: 1; women: 1)
Games
  • 1896
  • 1900
  • 1904
  • 1908
  • 1912
  • 1920
  • 1924
  • 1928
  • 1932
  • 1936
  • 1948
  • 1952

Volleyball has been part of the Summer Olympics program for both men and women consistently since 1964.

Brazil, the United States and the former Soviet Union are the only teams to win multiple gold medals at the men's tournament since its introduction. The remaining six editions of the Men's Olympic Volleyball Tournament were won each by a different country including Japan, Poland, Netherlands, Russia, France, and the defunct Yugoslavia.

Gold medals are less evenly distributed in women's volleyball than in men's; the fifteen editions of the Women's Olympic Volleyball Tournament were won by only six countries: Brazil, Cuba, China, Japan, the United States and the former Soviet Union.

History

Origins

The history of Olympic volleyball can be traced back to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where it was an unofficial exhibition event. Its addition to the Olympic program, however, was given only after World War II, with the foundation of the FIVB and of some of the continental confederations. In 1957, a special tournament was held during the 53rd IOC session in Sofia, Bulgaria, to support such request. The competition was a success, and the sport was officially introduced in 1964. The International Olympic Committee attempted to drop volleyball for the 1968 Olympics, but this was met with protest.

The volleyball Olympic tournament was originally a simple competition, whose format paralleled the one still employed in the World Cup: all teams played against each other team and then were ranked by number of wins, set average and point average. One disadvantage of this round-robin system is that medal winners could be determined before the end of the games, making the audience lose interest in the outcome of the remaining matches.

To cope with this situation, the competition was split into two phases: a "final round" was introduced, consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Since its creation in 1972, this new system has become the standard for the volleyball Olympic tournament, and is usually referred to as the "Olympic format".

The number of teams involved in the games has grown steadily since 1964. Since 1996, both men's and women's indoor events count 12 participant nations. Each of the five continental volleyball confederations has at least one affiliated national federation involved in the Olympic Games.

Events

Event 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24 Years
Men's tournament X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 16
Women's tournament X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 16
Total 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Men's winners

The first two editions of the volleyball Olympic tournament were won by the Soviet Union team. Bronze in 1964 and silver in 1968, Japan won gold in 1972. In 1976, the introduction of a new offensive skill, the back row attack, helped Poland win the competition over the Soviets in a very tight five-setter.

In 1980, many of the strongest teams in men's volleyball belonged to the Eastern Bloc, so the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics did not have as great an effect on these events as it had on the women's. The Soviet Union collected their third Olympic gold medal with a 3–1 victory over Bulgaria. With a Soviet-led boycott in 1984, the United States confirmed their new volleyball leadership in the Western World by sweeping smoothly over Brazil at the finals. In that edition a minor nation, Italy, won their first medal, but Italy would rise to prominence in volleyball in later decades. A long-awaited confrontation between the US and Soviet volleyball teams came in the 1988 final: powerplayers Karch Kiraly and Steve Timmons pushed the United States to a second gold medal setting the issue in favor of the Americans.

In 1992, Brazil upset favorites Unified Team, Netherlands, and Italy for their first Olympic championship. Runners-up Netherlands, with Ron Zwerver and Olof van der Meulen, came back in the following edition for a five-set win over Italy. In spite of their success in other major volleyball competitions in the 1990s, Italy did not fare well at the Olympics. After winning bronze in Atlanta, Serbia and Montenegro, led by Vladimir and Nikola Grbić, beat Russia at the final in 2000 to secure the gold (in 1996 and 2000 they played under the name Federal Republic of Yugoslavia).

In 2004, Brazil beat Italy in the final, adding a second gold medal to their record and confirming their role as the men's volleyball superpowers of the 2000s. In 2008, United States beat Brazil in the final, winning their third gold medal. Russia won the bronze for the second time by defeating Italy. In the 2012 final, Russia came back from a 0–2 set deficit, not letting the Brazilians take advantage of any of their 2 match points in the third set. Dmitriy Muserskiy scored 31 points, which is an Olympic Games record in a final. Italy defeated Bulgaria and took Bronze.

After coming up short in the previous two editions of the Olympics as runners-up, the Brazilians captured their third gold medal in the history of the competition playing home in 2016 after their straight-set victory against Italy in the final. The United States pulled off a comeback from a 0–2 deficit to claim the bronze medal with a victory over Russia.

The 2020 tournament, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing a delay, had the French team of Earvin N'Gapeth win it all over the Russians. In a repeat of the 1988 bronze medal match, Brazil were upset by neighbor Argentina.

Gold medals appear to be more evenly distributed in men's volleyball than in women's: former Soviet Union (three titles), United States (three) and Brazil (three) are the only teams to have won the tournament more than once. The remaining six editions were won each by a different country. Despite being a major force in men's volleyball since the 1990s, and never missing a tournament since 1976 Italy are still the only volleyball powerhouses that lack a gold medal at the Olympic Games.

Women's winners

Women's volleyball semifinals match between USA and South Korea at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The opening edition of the volleyball Olympic tournament, in 1964, was won by the host nation Japan. There followed two victories in a row by the Soviet Union, in 1968 and 1972. South Korea were expected to get their first gold after beating Japan in the 1975 Pre-Olympic Games, but Japan came back again in 1976 for one last Olympic gold before losing their status of women's volleyball superpowers.

The American-led boycott of the 1980 Games left many strong volleyball nations like Japan and South Korea out of the games. As a result, the Soviet Union easily secured a third Olympic gold medal. In 1984, the Eastern bloc was, in its turn, boycotting the games, and the Soviet Union did not participate. As a result, host nation United States won its first medals in volleyball, losing the finals to China. With eastern and western nations again involved in the Olympics, the Soviet Union obtained a remarkable victory over Peru after trailing 0–2 in 1988's marking one of the most dramatic female matches of the 20th century. The 1988 games were, however, boycotted by Cuba, who would become the next dominating force.

1992 saw a new force go down in Olympic history: organized under the name Unified Team, the nations of the former Soviet Union that chose to form a combined team easily reached the gold medal game, but did not resist the power play of the young, rising Cuban squad. Led by superstars Mireya Luis and Regla Torres, Cuba would eventually set the record for consecutive wins in the Olympic Games by also taking the gold in 1996 and 2000 against China and Russia, respectively.

In 2004, the winners were once again China. Second were Russia who beat Brazil in a very tough and dramatic semifinal match after being down 1–2, 19–24 in the fourth set.

In 2008, Brazil finally won the gold, beating the United States in the final and losing only one set in the competition. China were awarded the bronze by beating Cuba. After a troubled start, Brazil secured the double gold in 2012 after beating the United States once again in the final. Japan won the bronze medal after defeating South Korea.

In 2016, home team Brazil were favorites to once again win the title, thus equalling Cuba's three consecutive gold medals between 1992 and 2000. After winning all of their preliminary round matches without dropping a set, the team was, however, stunned by a young Chinese squad in a tiebreaker in the quarterfinals. China went on to win the title, their third in Olympic history, by beating Serbia in four sets in the gold medal match. In the process, Lang Ping became the first person to win a gold medal as a player in Los Angeles 1984 and repeat the feat now as a coach in Rio de Janeiro. China also became the first team to win the Olympics after losing three matches in the preliminary round. The United States defeated Netherlands 3–1 to capture the bronze medal.

In the fifteenth edition of the games in 2020, the United States faced Brazil for the third final in four editions, only this time they broke the long title drought. Thus the Americans became only the sixth country to win the women's tournament, after Brazil, China, Cuba, Japan, and the former Soviet Union. Serbia got the bronze, beating South Korea.

Competition formula

The volleyball Olympic tournament has a very stable competition formula. The following rules apply:

Qualification
  • Twelve teams participate in each event.
  • Host nations are always pre-qualified.
  • Two teams qualify through the Men's and Women's World Cup (this number was reduced from three prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics).
  • Five teams qualify as winners of continental qualification tournaments.
  • The four remaining berths are decided in world qualification tournaments.
Competition format
  • For the first phase, called qualification round, teams are ranked by the FIVB World Rankings and then divided in two pools of six teams using the serpentine system. The host nation is always ranked 1.
  • At the qualification round, each team plays one match against all other teams in its pool. Top four teams in each pool advance, the remaining two leave the competition.
  • At the second phase, usually called final round, teams play quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
  • For the final round, matches are organized according to the results obtained in the qualification round. Let the top four teams in each pool be A1, A2, A3, A4 (group A); and B1, B2, B3, B4 (group B). Quarterfinals would then be: A1xB4; A2xB3; A3xB2; A4xB1.
  • Winners of quarterfinals play semifinals as follows: (A1/B4) x (A3/B2) ; (A2/B3) x (A4xB1).
  • At the finals, winners of semifinals play for the gold, and losers for the bronze.
  • The tournament implements very tight line-up restrictions: only twelve players are allowed, and no replacement is permitted, even in case of injuries.

Men's tournaments

Results summary

Year Host Gold medal match Bronze medal match Teams
Gold medalists Score Silver medalists Bronze medalists Score 4th place
1964
Details
Japan
Tokyo

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Japan
Round-robin
Romania
10
1968
Details
Mexico
Mexico City

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Japan

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
East Germany
10
1972
Details
West Germany
Munich

Japan
3–1
East Germany

Soviet Union
3–0
Bulgaria
12
1976
Details
Canada
Montreal

Poland
3–2
Soviet Union

Cuba
3–0
Japan
10
1980
Details
Soviet Union
Moscow

Soviet Union
3–1
Bulgaria

Romania
3–1
Poland
10
1984
Details
United States
Los Angeles

United States
3–0
Brazil

Italy
3–0
Canada
10
1988
Details
South Korea
Seoul

United States
3–1
Soviet Union

Argentina
3–2
Brazil
12
1992
Details
Spain
Barcelona

Brazil
3–0
Netherlands

United States
3–1
Cuba
12
1996
Details
United States
Atlanta

Netherlands
3–2
Italy

Yugoslavia
3–1
Russia
12
2000
Details
Australia
Sydney

Yugoslavia
3–0
Russia

Italy
3–0
Argentina
12
2004
Details
Greece
Athens

Brazil
3–1
Italy

Russia
3–0
United States
12
2008
Details
China
Beijing

United States
3–1
Brazil

Russia
3–0
Italy
12
2012
Details
United Kingdom
London

Russia
3–2
Brazil

Italy
3–1
Bulgaria
12
2016
Details
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro

Brazil
3–0
Italy

United States
3–2
Russia
12
2020
Details
Japan
Tokyo

France
3–2
ROC

Argentina
3–2
Brazil
12
2024
Details
France
Paris
12

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Brazil (BRA)3306
2 Soviet Union (URS)3216
3 United States (USA)3025
4 Russia (RUS)1124
5 Japan (JPN)1113
6 Netherlands (NED)1102
7 Yugoslavia (YUG)1012
8 France (FRA)1001
 Poland (POL)1001
10 Italy (ITA)0336
11 Czechoslovakia (TCH)0112
12 Bulgaria (BUL)0101
 East Germany (GDR)0101
 ROC0101
15 Argentina (ARG)0022
16 Cuba (CUB)0011
 Romania (ROU)0011
Totals (17 entries)15151545

Participating nations

Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  •  •  – Did not enter / Did not qualify
  •    – Hosts
  • = – More than one team tied for that rank
  • Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
Team Japan
1964
Mexico
1968
West Germany
1972
Canada
1976
Soviet Union
1980
United States
1984
South Korea
1988
Spain
1992
United States
1996
Australia
2000
Greece
2004
China
2008
United Kingdom
2012
Brazil
2016
Japan
2020
France
2024
Total
 Algeria 12th 1
 Argentina 6th 3rd 8th 4th =5th =5th =5th 3rd 8
 Australia 8th =11th =9th 3
 Belgium 8th 1
 Brazil 7th 9th 8th 7th 5th 2nd 4th 1st 5th 6th 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 4th Q 16
 Bulgaria 5th 6th 4th 2nd 6th 7th 5th 4th 8
 Canada 9th 4th 10th 5th 8th Q 6
 China 8th 5th 2
 Cuba 10th 3rd 7th 4th 6th 7th =11th 7
 Egypt WD 10th 11th 11th 9th 5
 France 8th 11th 9th 9th 1st Q 6
 Germany See  East Germany and  West Germany =9th =5th Q 3
 Great Britain =11th 1
 Greece =5th 1
 Hungary 6th 1
 Iran =5th 9th 2
 Italy 8th 9th 3rd 9th 5th 2nd 3rd 2nd 4th 3rd 2nd 6th 12
 Japan 3rd 2nd 1st 4th 7th 10th 6th =11th 7th Q 10
 Libya 10th 1
 Mexico 10th =11th 2
 Netherlands 8th 5th 2nd 1st 5th 9th 6
 Poland 5th 9th 1st 4th 11th =5th =5th =5th =5th 5th Q 11
 Romania 4th 5th 3rd 3
 Russia See  Soviet Union 4th 2nd 3rd 3rd 1st 4th 2nd 7
 Serbia See  Yugoslavia See  Serbia and Montenegro 5th 9th 2
 South Korea 10th 7th 6th 5th 11th 9th =9th =9th 8
 Spain 8th 9th 2
 Sweden 7th 1
 Tunisia 12th 9th 12th 11th 11th 11th 11th 7
 United States 9th 7th 1st 1st 3rd =9th =11th 4th 1st =5th 3rd 10th Q 13
 Venezuela =9th 12th 2
Discontinued nations
 Czechoslovakia 2nd 3rd 6th 5th 8th See  Czech Republic 5
 East Germany 4th 2nd See  Germany 2
 Serbia and Montenegro See  Yugoslavia 3rd 1st =5th See  Serbia 3
 Soviet Union 1st 1st 3rd 2nd 1st 2nd 7th See  Russia 7
 West Germany 11th See  Germany 1
 Yugoslavia 6th See  Serbia and Montenegro See  Serbia 1
Total 10 10 12 10 10 10 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

Women's tournaments

Results summary

Year Host Gold medal match Bronze medal match Teams
Gold medalists Score Silver medalists Bronze medalists Score 4th place
1964
Details
Japan
Tokyo

Japan
Round-robin
Soviet Union

Poland
Round-robin
Romania
6
1968
Details
Mexico
Mexico City

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Japan

Poland
Round-robin
Peru
8
1972
Details
West Germany
Munich

Soviet Union
3–2
Japan

North Korea
3–0
South Korea
8
1976
Details
Canada
Montreal

Japan
3–0
Soviet Union

South Korea
3–1
Hungary
8
1980
Details
Soviet Union
Moscow

Soviet Union
3–1
East Germany

Bulgaria
3–2
Hungary
8
1984
Details
United States
Los Angeles

China
3–0
United States

Japan
3–1
Peru
8
1988
Details
South Korea
Seoul

Soviet Union
3–2
Peru

China
3–0
Japan
8
1992
Details
Spain
Barcelona

Cuba
3–1
Unified Team

United States
3–0
Brazil
8
1996
Details
United States
Atlanta

Cuba
3–1
China

Brazil
3–2
Russia
12
2000
Details
Australia
Sydney

Cuba
3–2
Russia

Brazil
3–0
United States
12
2004
Details
Greece
Athens

China
3–2
Russia

Cuba
3–1
Brazil
12
2008
Details
China
Beijing

Brazil
3–1
United States

China
3–1
Cuba
12
2012
Details
United Kingdom
London

Brazil
3–1
United States

Japan
3–0
South Korea
12
2016
Details
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro

China
3–1
Serbia

United States
3–1
Netherlands
12
2020
Details
Japan
Tokyo

United States
3–0
Brazil

Serbia
3–0
South Korea
12
2024
Details
France
Paris
12

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Soviet Union (URS)4206
2 China (CHN)3126
3 Cuba (CUB)3014
4 Japan (JPN)2226
5 Brazil (BRA)2125
6 United States (USA)1326
7 Russia (RUS)0202
8 Serbia (SRB)0112
9 East Germany (GDR)0101
 Peru (PER)0101
 Unified Team (EUN)0101
12 Poland (POL)0022
13 Bulgaria (BUL)0011
 North Korea (PRK)0011
 South Korea (KOR)0011
Totals (15 entries)15151545

Participating nations

Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  •  •  – Did not enter / Did not qualify
  •    – Hosts
  • = – More than one team tied for that rank
  • Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
Team Japan
1964
Mexico
1968
West Germany
1972
Canada
1976
Soviet Union
1980
United States
1984
South Korea
1988
Spain
1992
United States
1996
Australia
2000
Greece
2004
China
2008
United Kingdom
2012
Brazil
2016
Japan
2020
France
2024
Total
 Algeria =11th =11th 2
 Argentina =9th 11th 2
 Australia =9th 1
 Brazil 7th 7th 6th 4th 3rd 3rd 4th 1st 1st =5th 2nd Q 12
 Bulgaria 3rd 1
 Cameroon =11th 1
 Canada 8th 8th =9th 3
 China 1st 3rd 7th 2nd 5th 1st 3rd =5th 1st 9th 10
 Croatia Part of  Yugoslavia 7th 1
 Cuba 6th 5th 5th 1st 1st 1st 3rd 4th 8
 Dominican Republic =11th =5th 8th Q 4
 France Q 1
 Germany See  East Germany and  West Germany 8th 6th =9th 3
 Great Britain =9th 1
 Greece =9th 1
 Hungary 5th 4th 4th 3
 Italy =9th =5th =5th =5th =9th 6th 6
 Japan 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 3rd 4th 5th =9th =5th =5th 3rd =5th 10th 13
 Kazakhstan Part of  Soviet Union =9th 1
 Kenya =11th =11th 12th 3
 Mexico 7th 1
 Netherlands 6th 5th 4th 3
 North Korea 3rd 1
 Peru 4th 7th 6th 4th 2nd =11th =11th 7
 Poland 3rd 3rd =9th Q 4
 Puerto Rico =11th 1
 Romania 4th 8th 2
 Russia See  Soviet Union 4th 2nd 2nd =5th =5th =5th 7th 7
 Serbia See  Yugoslavia See  Serbia and Montenegro =5th =11th 2nd 3rd Q 5
 South Korea 6th 5th 4th 3rd 5th 8th 6th 8th =5th 4th =5th 4th 12
 Spain 8th 1
 Turkey =9th 5th Q 3
 Ukraine Part of  Soviet Union =11th 1
 United States 5th 8th 2nd 7th 3rd 7th 4th =5th 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st Q 13
 Venezuela =11th 1
Discontinued nations
 Czechoslovakia 6th 7th See  Czech Republic 2
 East Germany 6th 2nd 5th See  Germany 3
 Soviet Union 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 2nd See  Russia 7
 West Germany 8th 6th See  Germany 2
Total 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

Total medal table

  • Defunct NOCs are shown in italic.

Sources:

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Soviet Union (URS)74112
2 Brazil (BRA)54211
3 United States (USA)43411
4 Japan (JPN)3339
5 China (CHN)3126
6 Cuba (CUB)3025
7 Russia (RUS)1326
8 Netherlands (NED)1102
9 Poland (POL)1023
10 FR Yugoslavia /
 Serbia and Montenegro
1012
11 France (FRA)1001
12 Italy (ITA)0336
13 East Germany (GDR)0202
14 Bulgaria (BUL)0112
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)0112
 Serbia (SRB)0112
17 Peru (PER)0101
 ROC0101
 Unified Team (EUN)0101
20 Argentina (ARG)0022
21 North Korea (PRK)0011
 Romania (ROU)0011
 South Korea (KOR)0011
Totals (23 entries)30303090

Most valuable player by edition

Win–loss records

Men's tournament

Team Matches played Wins Losses Winning percentage
 Algeria 6 0 6 0.0%
 Argentina 55 27 28 49.1%
 Australia 18 4 14 22.2%
 Belgium 9 2 7 22.2%
 Brazil 113 69 44 61.1%
 Bulgaria 60 32 28 53.3%
 Canada 28 9 19 32.1%
 China 12 3 9 25.0%
 Cuba 47 22 25 46.8%
 Czechoslovakia 37 24 13 64.9%
 East Germany 16 11 5 68.8%
 Egypt 20 1 19 5.0%
 France 31 14 17 45.2%
 Germany 11 3 8 27.3%
 Great Britain 5 0 5 0.0%
 Greece 6 3 3 50.0%
 Hungary 9 4 5 44.4%
 Iran 11 4 7 36.4%
 Italy 85 55 30 64.7%
 Japan 62 35 27 56.5%
 Libya 5 0 5 0.0%
 Mexico 14 0 14 0.0%
 Netherlands 45 26 19 57.8%
 Poland 62 35 27 56.5%
 Romania 22 14 8 63.6%
 Russia 56 38 18 67.9%
 Serbia 11 3 8 27.3
 Serbia and Montenegro 22 15 7 68.1%
 South Korea 51 16 35 31.4%
 Soviet Union 51 41 10 80.4%
 Spain 13 4 9 30.8%
 Sweden 7 3 4 42.9%
 Tunisia 38 1 37 2.7%
 United States 84 49 35 58.3%
 Venezuela 10 1 9 10.0%
 West Germany 6 1 5 16.7%
 Yugoslavia 6 3 3 50.0%

Women's tournament

Team Matches played Wins Losses Winning percentage
 Algeria 10 0 10 0.0%
 Argentina 10 1 9 10.0%
 Australia 5 1 4 20.0%
 Brazil 75 52 23 69.3%
 Bulgaria 5 3 2 60.0%
 Cameroon 5 0 5 0.0%
 Canada 15 1 14 6.7%
 China 65 41 24 63.1%
 Croatia 8 4 4 50.0%
 Cuba 52 37 15 71.2%
 Czechoslovakia 12 4 8 33.3%
 Dominican Republic 17 5 12 29.4%
 East Germany 15 7 8 46.7%
 Germany 21 7 14 33.3%
 Great Britain 5 1 4 20.0%
 Greece 5 1 4 20.0%
 Hungary 15 7 8 46.7%
 Italy 34 17 17 50.0%
 Japan 73 42 31 57.5%
 Kazakhstan 5 1 4 20.0%
 Kenya 15 0 15 0.0%
 Mexico 7 1 6 14.3%
 Netherlands 21 11 10 52.4%
 North Korea 5 3 2 60.0%
 Peru 37 12 25 46.2%
 Poland 17 9 8 53.0%
 Puerto Rico 5 0 5 0.0%
 Romania 10 4 6 40.0%
 Russia 48 32 16 66.6%
 Serbia 27 13 14 48.1%
 South Korea 76 31 45 40.8%
 Soviet Union 37 32 5 86.5%
 Spain 4 0 4 0.0%
 Turkey 11 5 6 45.5%
 Ukraine 5 0 5 0.0%
 United States 82 50 32 61.0%
 Venezuela 5 0 5 0.0%
 West Germany 10 2 8 20.0%

See also


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