OLYMPIC HISTORY

The Federation Internationale de Volleyball was born in 1947 and was recognised by the IOC in 1949, when the first world championship for men was held. The women held their first world championship in 1952. Both inaugural titles went to Russia, which led the way in the sport until it joined the Olympic Games at Tokyo in 1964, when the Soviet Union won the men's title and Japan, the host, the women's. Captain of the Japan women's team was Masae Kasai, who complained to her country's Prime Minister that her dedication to the Olympic ideal had left her no time to meet men. The Prime Minister set her up on a date with a certain Kazuo Nakamura; the pair married soon after.

The duel for supremacy of the sport between Russia and Japan was fierce right through to the 1980s. Among men, the US then won the 1984 and 1988 titles. A leading member of that 1988 winning team was Karch Kiraly, who in 1996 became Olympic champion in the inaugural beach volleyball tournament.

The most medalled player ever is Inna Ryskal, of the Soviet Union, who won two gold and two silver medals between 1964 and 1976.

New elements for the sport in Sydney are the introduction of the libero, a back-row substitute who will wear a different coloured shirt from those of his or her team-mates, and the fact that a point will now be up for the taking in every rally, replacing the traditional system in which only the serving team could earn one.

In Sydney, Italy, The Netherlands and Cuba are favourites for the men's title, while Mireya Luis Hernandez, whose skills brought her the Knickname "the spiker with wings", and Magalys Carvajal, of defending team Cuba, are the players to beat among women, with Russia, China and Brazil the threat.