International Olympic Committee : News

Russia stun Brazil for Volleyball gold - London 2012 - Volleyball

8/12/2012 12:00:00 AM

For the best part of three sets Russia looked a shadow of the side which had defeated Bulgaria in the semi-finals, lumbering around the court as Brazil picked points at will.

So easy was their march to victory looking that at 2-0 and 22-19 they sent on retiring captain Giba - a virtual spectator in London due to injury - to allow him the privilege of being on court when the medal was won.

That proved to be a bad move as Russia embarked on one of the most staggering comebacks the sport has seen to wrap up a fourth Olympic Volleyball title.

The final scoresheet read: 19-25, 20-25, 29-27, 25-22, 15-9.

Dmitriy Muserskiy used every part of his tall frame to plunder a match-winning 31 points.

On the other side, Brazil were no longer quick around the court and the previously-excellent Sergio could not feed Bruno who would in turn tee up Wallace and Murilo at the net.

The change was remarkable and a far cry from the start of the game when Brazil were desperate to ride the wave of support started by their victorious female counterparts last night.

They got out to 8-5 in front when the first time-out arrived, mixing some thunderous hitting from Wallace with some more delicate touches from Murilo as Russia failed to settle.

There was no stopping the duo - even a run of three Russia points on the serve of Sergey Tetyukhin made no difference - and when Wallace spiked his fifth point of the set, Brazil took it 25-19.

There was no let-up at the start of the second set either, despite Russia getting an early jump to 2-0. A brilliant block from Sidnei made it 2-2 and then the fine serving of he and Wallace got their side firmly in command at 8-4.

A theme had certainly emerged, with Russia doing their best to hit Brazil off the court only to be denied by Sergio, whose stunning defensive work would pave the way to a thunderous winner at the net.

The score got out to 22-17 when Dante Amaral's kill block won a back-and-forth thriller and, when the same player cracked a spike off Maxim Mikhaylov's fingertips, the set was won 25-20.

Knowing the grave nature of their situation, there appeared to be a greater steel about Russia at the start of the third set and they led at the first time-out, with Muserskiy finally imposing himself on the game with two telling spikes as they edged to 8-7.

A winner and a kill from Sidnei, and then a pair of spikes from Wallace spun the set back around in Brazil's favour and, although Sergey Grankin blocked to level at 15-all, Murilo got Brazil ahead at the second time-out.

It was all or nothing for Russia, and as Brazil shook a little they pounced, recovering from 22-19 to 22-22 and then, despite letting two set points slip through their fingers, eventually took it 29-27 when Muserskiy got an error out of Murilo.

The tables had turned at the start of the fourth, with Russia dictating the pace and picking up points on their own terms, with Maxim Mikhaylov's blocking putting them 8-7 up at the first break.

They continued to dominate after that, leading 15-12 when Brazil were hauled off the court for time-out, with serves going long and spikes persistently shut down.

It was one-way traffic and Russia duly took the set 25-22 before opening up a 3-1 lead in the decider when Amaral hit long.

And when in the fifth set a block from unsuspecting libero Alexey Obmochaev dropped in as a winner, the game was up at 12-6 and eventually Russia closed it out at 15-9.

Earlier in the day, Italy ended the Games on a high by taking the bronze medal with a 3-1 win over Bulgaria.

Mauro Berruto's men gamely shrugged off the disappointment of their semi-final whitewash at the hands of Brazil to take third prize - something they failed to do after a last-four defeat in Beijing four years ago.

Cristian Savani, who was unable to carry Italy against Brazil as he has done for most of the tournament, returned to form today, leaving the court with 23 points while Michal Lasko weighed in with 18.

Brazil retain title after thrilling final - London 2012 - Volleyball

8/11/2012 12:00:00 AM

In a repeat of the Beijing 2008 showpiece, the South Americans once again got the better of their arch-rivals, seeing them off by the same 3-1 score that was good enough four years ago.

As a result, the USA's wait for Volleyball gold goes on - this was their 10th failed attempt.

The USA started the final as the in-form team, with front-row pairing Foluke Akinradewo and Destinee Hooker virtually unplayable in their games so far, one of which was a 3-1 win over Brazil in the group stages.

And they began tonight in that manner, threatening to overpower Brazil as they stormed to the opening set in just 21 minutes.

Somehow, though, Brazil used the end-of-set break to completely transform themselves, returning to the court to produce the most devastating spell of Volleyball any side has produced throughout the 37 games that had preceded this one.

Their attack became virtually unplayable owing to its speed, and with Hooker shut down and restricted to a tournament-low 14 points, they stormed to victory, proving coach Roberto Guimaraes was not wrong when he said he had learned the lessons of the round-robin defeat.

'This is a wonderful feeling,' said Brazil coach Jose Roberto Guimaraes afterwards.

'For me, the US were the favourites before this match. We played very well tactically.

'After the second set we really played wonderful. We were serving well and we didn't make mistakes on reception.'

Earlier, Japan took the bronze medal by securing a straight-sets success over Republic of Korea. Masayoshi Manabe's side displayed a greater appetite from the first point as they wrapped up a first Games podium finish since 1984.

Brazil retain title after thrilling final - London 2012 - Volleyball

8/11/2012 12:00:00 AM

In a repeat of the Beijing 2008 showpiece, the South Americans once again got the better of their arch-rivals, seeing them off by the same 3-1 score that was good enough four years ago.

As a result, the USA's wait for Volleyball gold goes on - this was their 10th failed attempt.

And they began tonight in that manner, threatening to overpower Brazil as they stormed to the opening set in just 21 minutes.

'This is a wonderful feeling,' said Brazil coach Jose Roberto Guimaraes afterwards.

'For me, the US were the favourites before this match. We played very well tactically.

'After the second set we really played wonderful. We were serving well and we didn't make mistakes on reception.'

Qualifying battle heats up - London 2012 - Volleyball

8/3/2012 12:00:00 AM

Turkey turned up the heat in Pool B by getting the better of Republic of Korea over five thrilling sets.

Marco Aurelio Motta's side are slowly growing in to the tournament, having gone through the first two games without victory.

They had shown promise in an opening-day loss to Brazil, though, and have since recorded a pair of wins, with today's marathon effort taking a little over two hours after they twice let a one-set lead slip.

The victory puts them above Brazil in the table, pushing the reigning champions back out of the qualification places despite their tense triumph over China in the morning.

Brazil now have to beat Serbia in their last game and even then progression would not be a certainty, while Turkey could still go through even if they lose to leaders the USA in their final game, depending on how Brazil fare.

The defending champion Brazilians survived an almighty scare against China to keep their gold medal defence alive.

The South Americans have been below their best so far in this tournament and a third defeat would have ruled them out of quarter-final qualification.

But they found a way to stay in touch through to their final fixture with so-far winless Serbia, with progression now in their own hands.

It had not looked that way when they squandered a fourth-set match point, but they responded well by getting an early jump on China to take the decider.

Meanwhile, Russia continued their excellent form by seeing off Japan over four sets to preserve their unbeaten record.

Having taken the first two sets, they offered up the third to a quick and agile Japan, before exerting their considerable height advantage again in the fourth.

Great Britain's first window of opportunity to qualify for the quarter-finals was shut by the Dominican Republic, while the USA continue to sweep all before them after easing past winless Serbia.

Hugh McCutcheon's side, who are aiming for a first gold medal at the 10th time of asking, have been superb throughout the tournament, peaking with a 3-1 victory over Brazil earlier this week.

Their latest performance was not far behind, with their European opponents given little chance despite their imposing height at the net. They remain rooted to the bottom of Pool B.

The result confirms USA as the pool winners, with their round-robin campaign set to wrap up against in-form Turkey on Sunday.

In the final game of the night, Italy extended their unbeaten run to four games, getting the better of winless Algeria in straight sets.

The Europeans needed just 59 minutes to beat the world number 16s, ensuring the continuation of their 100 per cent record in Pool A in the process.

Beach Volleyball thrills central London

8/16/2011 10:55:00 AM

London's Horse Guards Parade was transformed into a world-class beach volleyball venue last week as it hosted the FIVB Beach Volleyball International in preparation for next year's Olympic Games.

The historic venue – which is located in central London, close to Buckingham Palace, Downing Street and Westminster Abbey – attracted a huge level of interest as it welcomed 24 leading teams from around the world from 9-14 August, giving the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) the chance to test one of its key temporary venues for next year's Games.

Among them also women beach volleyballers Linline Matauatu and Elwin Miller of Vanuatu, a group of islands some 1,700 kilometres off the coast of northern Australia, who finished in the top ten of the tournament’s final ranking. Until just a few years ago, making it to the Games would have been a mere dream for these two young mothers, but having received an Olympic Solidarity team grant to pay for equipment, travel and a professional coach, making it to the Games became a real possibility. Watch here how they are training and preparing for London 2012.

The event proved to be a great success, attracting praise from fans and athletes alike, with Brazilian pair Liliane Maestrini and Angela Vieira triumphing over Americans April Ross and Jennifer Kessy in the final. Vieira was particularly impressed with the venue and the host city in general.

“Everything was really nice,” she said. “Thank you to everyone who helped. I am thankful for the whole test of the Olympic event. It was pretty good, perfect. I have never been here before and I love London, love everyone and everything.”

The FIVB Beach Volleyball International forms part of the London Prepares series, which will see the British capital's Olympic venues play host to several world-class sporting events in the build-up to London 2012. The series is an integral part of LOCOG's preparations for the Games, enabling it to test the sporting field of play at each venue, as well as the results, timing and scoring systems.

The events also allow LOCOG to see how its teams work together and how people move around the venues, and David Luckes, Head of Sport Competition at LOCOG, was pleased with how the beach volleyball event went.

“The atmosphere was fantastic throughout the whole week,” he said. “Athletes, spectators and volunteers all talked about the amazing setting and the great time they all had. We successfully tested the field of play (including the sand), results systems, lighting and sport presentation. Bringing beach volleyball in this format to London is a first for the capital, the fact that it was in this iconic venue added to the appeal.”

Vicente Araujo, Technical Delegate and FIVB Beach Volleyball Commission secretary, added: “The media and spectator interest has been impressive and of course the spectacular setting of Horse Guards Parade has been inspirational, while the legacy of the sand, which will be used to create new beach volleyball courts, is also very important to us. The response of the athletes concerning the event has been very encouraging and thanks to the great crowd support, they have had a glimpse of what it will be like next year. Of course there are some areas where we will continue to liaise and fine tune with LOCOG but now after this extremely successful week we can focus on London 2012 with great confidence.”

Golden Opportunity: Juliana Felisberta Silva, Beach Volleyball

10/20/2010 9:47:00 AM

Olympic Review continues its countdown to the 2012 Games with exclusive interviews with stars of three more of the 26 sports on the programme, who are targeting gold in London. The Brazilian Juliana Felisberta Silva, FIBV World Tour Beach Volleyball champion for four of the past five seasons, missed the 2008 Beijing games because of injury – London 2012 cannot come soon enough for her.

How disappointing was it to miss the 2008 Games through injury?
It was like a bad dream where you never wake up. I worked for four years to compete in the Olympic Games, and just before the start it was taken away from me. I had some terrible days after that but had some great support, especially from my partner [Larissa França] and my family. They all believed I would get back to my best, more than I did.

How did you recover from that setback?
Every day I woke up and told myself I had to do something towards getting better. After one year I was back playing again with the same partner and won the World Tour. I think it was the energy created by me believing in myself and people believing in me.

What do the Games mean to you?
It’s different because of the expectation. Footballers have their World Cup, we have the Olympic Games and I really, really want to be there. I will try for the gold medal but I want to win any medal for my country and for me, so that when I have a baby I can say, ‘Your mother went there and she worked really hard for it’.

Have you ever been to London?
I’ve only been on vacation but it seems a really interesting country – the Queen, the culture, and the people are really polite. I really hope to go there for the Olympic Games.

What is your training regime?
I train six hours per day, three in the morning and three in the afternoon or evening. I usually wake around 7am, go to the gym or the beach for physical training, back home to sleep, then train again. Three times a week I have physio and massage.

What particular training do you have to do for beach volleyball?
The most stress is on the legs so that’s where you have to work hardest. You have to learn how to jump and how to move in the sand before working on your technique.

How did you get into beach volleyball?
In my school we had a choice: PE or play a sport. Well I hated PE so I chose indoor volleyball.

What is it about the sport that you like?
It’s so much more relaxed than most other sports. You travel a lot, you meet a lot of people, it’s given me the chance to experience a lot of different cultures. I always tell my friends, for me beach volleyball is the best university I could imagine.

Who are your role models?
There are three: in beach volleyball it’s Sandra Pires of Brazil, who won gold and bronze at the Olympic Games; the second is Michael Jordan, who once wrote, “I’m not a good player, I just train hard”. And the third is Ayrton Senna from Brazil, because he never quit.

What music do you listen to, and do you do any social networking?
I use Facebook to keep in touch with my friends, and I listen to reggae, Bob Marley especially, and sometimes to gospel music.

Singapore 2010 adopts new sport formats

8/12/2010 3:39:00 PM

The first Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore will feature all 26 sports currently on the programme of the London 2012 Olympic Games. What will differ in some cases are the disciplines and format, such as 3 on 3 street basketball, a mixed gender relay in the swimming pool, a medley relay on the track or events in which athletes from different National Olympic Committees compete on the same team. Read on to see what your favourite sports will consist of in Singapore...

Aquatics (diving and swimming)

Aquatics comprises diving and swimming. There will be two diving events for both men and women, 3m springboard and 10m platform. Swimming events include freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and medley, both individual and relay. As a first, a mixed gender event for 4 x 100m freestyle relay and 4 x 100m medley relay is included.

Archery

Archery will feature individual men, women and mixed team competitions. The distance that athletes will be shooting is 70m.

Athletics

Athletics comprises a total 36 events for both men and women. The track events will include 1000m and 3000m races as well as a 2000m steeplechase and a medley relay. There will be eight field events (four jumps and four throws).

Badminton

Badminton will feature men’s and women’s singles events in Singapore.

Basketball

Basketball 3 on 3 will be played at the YOG. There will be two teams of three players on court at any one time. This fast-paced game is played on a half court, with one basketball hoop. It includes two periods of five minutes each. The winner is the first team to score 33 points, or the team that is leading the game at the end of the fifteen minutes of play.

Boxing

Boxing will feature men’s events. There will be 11 different weight categories, ranging from 48kg to the 91kg+ division.

Canoe-Kayak

Canoe-Kayak will feature four events for men and two for women. Both will race
in head-to-head sprints and obstacle slaloms in the kayak category. The men will also compete in the same events in canoes.

Cycling

The Cycling competition will involve teams. Each team consists of three men and one woman. The three men are required to compete in one discipline each (BMX, MTB and Time Trial), while the woman has to compete in all three disciplines. All male riders also have to compete in the Road Race.

Equestrian

In Equestrian, only the jumping events will take place (team and individual). The Organising Committee will provide the horses, which will be assigned to riders by draw. For the team event, there will be six teams representing each FEI regional zone.

Fencing

Fencing will feature individual competitions in the foil, epée and sabre for men and women, and a mixed team competition.

Football

Football will consist of a six-team competition, representing all continents, for both men and women.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is split into artistic and rhythmic, as in the Olympic Games. The artistic competition will feature eight individual men’s events and six individual women’s events. The rhythmic competition consists of two events – individual and team – for women.

Handball

Handball is a six-team tournament, representing all continents, for men and for women.

Hockey

Hockey is the same as football and handball – a six-team competition, representing all continents for both men and women.

Judo

There are a total of eight weight categories for both men and women in the Judo competition. There is also a mixed team event.

Modern Pentathlon

The Modern Pentathlon competition consists of four of the five modern pentathlon disciplines: fencing, swimming, running and shooting. The fifth discipline, riding, will not be competed at Singapore 2010. The run-shoot format will be competed. In the Combined event, laser shooting is being used for the first time.

Rowing

Both the men and women will compete in two events in Rowing – single sculls and pairs.

Sailing

The Sailing competition comprises four events, with men and women sailing in either the one person dinghy or the windsurfing.

Shooting

In Shooting, the men and women will compete in both air rifle and air pistol.

Table Tennis

Table tennis will consist of men’s singles, women’s singles and a mixed team competition.

Taekwondo

Taekwondo will see athletes competing in five weight categories per gender.

Tennis

There will be both men’s singles and doubles and women’s singles and doubles in the Tennis tournament.

Triathlon

The Triathlon competition format for individual competitions includes a 750m swim in open water, a 20km cycle ride and a 5km run. The 4 x mixed team relay competition includes a 250m swim in open water, a 7km cycle ride and a 1.7km run.

Volleyball

Volleyball is a six-team men’s and women’s competition.

Weightlifting

Weightlifting sees men competing in six weight categories, while women will compete in five weight categories. The combined results of the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk will produce the champion of each weight category.

Wrestling

The Wrestling competition will see men compete in Greco-Roman (five weight categories) and freestyle (five weight categories) and women in freestyle (four weight categories).