More than 10,500 athletes from 206 countries – including Kosovo and South Sudan for the first time – are expected to compete for 306 sets of medals in 28 sports. Rio is the first city in South America to host the Summer Olympics and the beautiful vistas of Ipanema Beach and Sugarloaf Mountain will be juxtaposed against serious water quality issues, poverty and crime in the favelas and concerns over the Zika virus.
Indoor volleyball has been included in the Summer Olympics for both men and women since 1964. Only twelve teams qualify on each of the men’s and women’s sides and Canada has only had a team entered 3 times each for the men and women. Our best showing was in 1984 when the men placed fourth (in the games boycotted by the Eastern bloc).
Beach volleyball was introduced as an official sport in 1996 and John Child and Mark Heese brought home a bronze medal for Canada that year. This year beach volleyball will be played at the famed Copacabana Beach and will be sure to be among one of the most watched sports at the Games.