Beach Volleyball

Facts

Discipline of Volleyball
Participants 436
NOCs 44
Competitions held 14 (Venues)
Distinct events 4

Description

Beach volleyball became popular in the 1980s, played originally on the beaches of Southern California. It was described by one prominent Olympic historian, Ian Buchanan, as “Baywatch with a medal ceremony”. Unlike the indoor six-person game, beach volleyball is played usually by two-person teams, although events with four-person teams have been contested. The game is played on a sand-based surface. The international governing body of beach volleyball is the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), which was formed in April 1947, and has 222 member nations as of 2022.

Beach volleyball was added to the Olympic Program in 1996 and has since been contested at each Olympics. The first men’s gold medal went to the United States’ team of Karch Kiraly, often considered the greatest ever volleyballer, and his teammate Kent Steffes. Among the men, both Emanuel and Ricardo (BRA) are the most successful players, with a full set of medals. Two women have won three gold medals, with Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor winning the title in 2004, 2008, and 2012. Walsh Jennings also won a bronze in 2016, increasing her record to four medals won at the Olympic Games. The two dominant nations have been the United States, with 11 medals and seven golds, and Brazil, with 13 medals and three golds.

All-time medal table

Olympic Games

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
United States USA 7 2 2 11
Brazil BRA 3 7 3 13
Germany GER 2 0 1 3
Australia AUS 1 1 1 3
Norway NOR 1 0 0 1
People's Republic of China CHN 0 1 1 2
Italy ITA 0 1 0 1
ROC ROC 0 1 0 1
Spain ESP 0 1 0 1
Switzerland SUI 0 0 2 2
Canada CAN 0 0 1 1
Latvia LAT 0 0 1 1
Netherlands NED 0 0 1 1
Qatar QAT 0 0 1 1

Youth Olympic Games

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Russian Federation RUS 2 0 0 2
Brazil BRA 1 0 0 1
Sweden SWE 1 0 0 1
Canada CAN 0 1 0 1
Italy ITA 0 1 0 1
Netherlands NED 0 1 0 1
Venezuela VEN 0 1 0 1
Argentina ARG 0 0 2 2
Germany GER 0 0 1 1
Norway NOR 0 0 1 1

Most successful competitors

Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Kerri Walsh Jennings USA 3 0 1 4
Misty May-Treanor USA 3 0 0 3
Emanuel BRA 1 1 1 3
Ricardo BRA 1 1 1 3
April Ross USA 1 1 1 3
Alison Cerutti BRA 1 1 0 2
Natalie Cook AUS 1 0 1 2
Kerri-Ann Pottharst AUS 1 0 1 2
Sandra Pires BRA 1 0 1 2
Jackie Silva BRA 1 0 0 1
Kent Steffes USA 1 0 0 1
Karch Kiraly USA 1 0 0 1
Dain Blanton USA 1 0 0 1
Eric Fonoimoana USA 1 0 0 1
Jonas Reckermann GER 1 0 0 1
Laura Ludwig GER 1 0 0 1
Phil Dalhausser USA 1 0 0 1
Todd Rogers USA 1 0 0 1
Julius Brink GER 1 0 0 1
Kira Walkenhorst GER 1 0 0 1
Bruno Schmidt BRA 1 0 0 1
Christian Sørum NOR 1 0 0 1
Alix Klineman USA 1 0 0 1
Anders Mol NOR 1 0 0 1

Youth Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Duda Lisboa BRA 1 0 0 1
Ana Patrícia Ramos BRA 1 0 0 1
Oleg Stoyanovsky ROC
RUS
1 0 0 1
Artyom Yarzutkin RUS 1 0 0 1
David Åhman SWE 1 0 0 1
Jonatan Hellvig SWE 1 0 0 1
Mariya Bocharova RUS 1 0 0 1
Mariya Voronina RUS 1 0 0 1
Megan McNamara CAN 0 1 0 1
Nicole McNamara CAN 0 1 0 1
José Gómez VEN 0 1 0 1
Rolando Hernández VEN 0 1 0 1
Yorick de Groot NED 0 1 0 1
Matthew Immers NED 0 1 0 1
Nicol Bertozzi ITA 0 1 0 1
Claudia Scampoli ITA 0 1 0 1

Event types

Name Gender Still contested? Times held?
Beach Volleyball Men 7
Beach Volleyball Women 7
Beach Volleyball Boys 2
Beach Volleyball Girls 2