FIVB Volleyball World Championship

FIVB Volleyball World Championship
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship
Sport Volleyball
Founded 1949
CEO Brazil Ary Graça
Inaugural season 1949
No. of teams 24 (Finals)
Continent International (FIVB)
Most recent champion(s) M:  Poland (2nd title)
W:  United States (1st title)
Most titles M:  Russia (6 titles)
W:  Russia (7 titles)
Official website FIVB Volleyball World Championships

The FIVB Volleyball World Championship is an international men's and women's indoor volleyball competition. It is the oldest and most important of all the international events organised by the FIVB and must not be confused with the World Cup, World Grand Champions Cup, or the World League/World Grand Prix.

History

Origins

The history of the World Championship goes back to the beginnings of volleyball as a professional, high level sport. One of the first concrete measures taken by the FIVB after its foundation in 1947 was the establishment of an international competition involving teams from more than one continent. In 1949, the first edition was played in Prague, Czechoslovakia. At that point, the tournament was men's only and still restricted to Europe.

Three years later, a women's version was introduced; the events were synchronized and expanded to include nations from Asia, and began to be held in 4-year cycles. By the following edition, there were also teams from South, Central and North America.

Since volleyball was to be added to the Olympic Program in 1964, the 4-cycles were advanced in 2 years after the fourth edition (1960), so that the World Championship may alternate with the Summer Olympics. As of 1970, teams from Africa also took part in the competition, and the original goal of having members from all five continental confederations in the games was achieved.

The number of teams involved in the games has changed significantly over the years. Following volleyball's increase in popularity, they raised steadily to over 20 in the 1970s and part of the 1980s, were then cut short to 16 in the 1990s, and finally set up in 24 after 2002. Today, the World Championship is the most comprehensive of all events organized by the FIVB, and arguably the second most important, surpassed in prestige only by the Olympic Games.

Until 1974, the host nation of the tournament organized both the men's and the women's events, with the single exception of the 1966/1967 games, which took place in different years. Since 1978, this practice has been only occasionally observed, for instance, in 1998 and in the 2006 edition, which was held, as the former was, in Japan.

Winners (men)

The history of the World Championship clearly demonstrates how volleyball was originally dominated by European nations.

The first two editions were won by the Soviet Union. In 1956, twice runner-up Czechoslovakia took the gold. There followed two more consecutive wins for the Soviet Union, in both cases over Czechoslovakia. The United States men's national volleyball team, led by captain Eugene Selznick, won the 1960 and 1966 Volleyball World Championships.[1][2] The Czechs won a gold medal in the 1966 edition.

In 1970, East Germany prevailed over Bulgaria for their first and only title. In 1974, the Soviet Union threatened to take the lead once more, but ended up being defeated by Poland at the final. Nevertheless, they would confirm their leadership by winning, for the third time, two editions in a row.

1986 saw the first relevant confrontation between United States, the rising major force of the decade, and the traditional leader Soviet Union after the Olympic boycotts of 1980 and 1984. As would be the case two years later at the Seoul Games, the issue was settled in favour of the Americans led by Karch Kiraly and Steve Timmons. Italy completely dominated the competition in the 1990s, winning all the editions that took place in this decade (1990, 1994, 1998), led by such players as Lorenzo Bernardi and Andrea Giani.

In the 2000s, Brazil became the leading force in the sport, winning three consecutive editions (2002, 2006 and 2010), the first of which in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the same stage where the Brazilians had been runner-ups in 1982. In 2014, Poland, playing in home, defeated Brazil in 4 sets at the final achieving their second gold medal and preventing what would be a historical fourth title in a row.

As of 2014, 18 editions of the men's Volleyball World Championship have been played: 14 went to European teams, and four to American teams (once to United States and three times to Brazil).

Winners (women)

If the titles of the women's World Championship are evenly distributed between Europe and Asia, the situation is quite different when nations are taken into account. Except for Italy's singleand for many, unexpectedvictory in 2002, the only winners so far have been the Russia (5 times as Soviet Union), Japan, China and Cuba.

The Soviets made a most impressive start by winning the first three editions of the tournament: 1952, 1956, 1960. They were halfway to making it four, since the following edition was to be played in Moscow. Former runners-up Japan, nevertheless, was the champions in 1962 and interrupted the winning streak, repeating the performance in 1967, when the Soviet Union national team did not participate.

The teams faced each other again in 1970, and this time the Soviet Union beat their opponents to collect the gold. In the following edition, Japan took revenge and defeated the Soviet Union in straight sets. Then something extraordinary happened: the world watched astonished as a young Cuban squad left behind the two longtime rivals and secured the first important volleyball title for a continent other than Europe or Asia.

The early 1980s saw the rise of a new Asian force: led by superstar Lang Ping, China stamped its mark on the World Championship's history by winning two editions in a row (1982 and 1986). They also made it to the finals in 1990, but were overpowered by the Soviet Union in its last participation at the competition.

Cuba's 1978 title finally fructified in an aggressive style of play that virtually dominated the 1990s. Led by powerplayers Regla Torres, Mireya Luis and Regla Bell, the Caribbeans won the 1994 and 1998 editions of the World Championship, beating newbies as well as tradition rivals such as Russia and China.

In spite of being appointed as favourite in 2002, China lost at the semifinals to a rising Italy, which would eventually win the final against United States

In 2006, favourite Brazil couldn't stop Russia and lost the gold medal match in a shocking final tie-breaker.

In 2010, Russia once again defeated Brazil in a 5th-set tie-breaker.

Competition formula

The competition formula of the FIVB World Championship has been constantly changed to fit the different number of teams that participate in each edition. The following rules usually apply:

Results

Men

Year Host Final 3rd place match Number of teams
Champions Score Runners-up 3rd place Score 4th place
1949
Details
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Bulgaria
Round-robin
Romania
10
1952
Details
Soviet Union
Soviet Union

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Bulgaria
Round-robin
Romania
11
1956
Details
France
France

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
Romania

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland
20
1960
Details
Brazil
Brazil

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Romania
Round-robin
Poland
14
1962
Details
Soviet Union
Soviet Union

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Romania
Round-robin
Bulgaria
21
1966
Details
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
Romania

Soviet Union
Round-robin
East Germany
22
1970
Details
Bulgaria
Bulgaria

East Germany
Round-robin
Bulgaria

Japan
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia
24
1974
Details
Mexico
Mexico

Poland
Round-robin
Soviet Union

Japan
Round-robin
East Germany
24
1978
Details
Italy
Italy

Soviet Union
3–0
Italy

Cuba
3–1
South Korea
24
1982
Details
Argentina
Argentina

Soviet Union
3–0
Brazil

Argentina
3–0
Japan
24
1986
Details
France
France

United States
3–1
Soviet Union

Bulgaria
3–0
Brazil
16
1990
Details
Brazil
Brazil

Italy
3–1
Cuba

Soviet Union
3–0
Brazil
16
1994
Details
Greece
Greece

Italy
3–1
Netherlands

United States
3–1
Cuba
16
1998
Details
Japan
Japan

Italy
3–0
Yugoslavia

Cuba
3–1
Brazil
24
2002
Details
Argentina
Argentina

Brazil
3–2
Russia

France
3–0
Yugoslavia
24
2006
Details
Japan
Japan

Brazil
3–0
Poland

Bulgaria
3–1
Serbia and Montenegro
24
2010
Details
Italy
Italy

Brazil
3–0
Cuba

Serbia
3–1
Italy
24
2014
Details
Poland
Poland

Poland
3–1
Brazil

Germany
3–0
France
24
2018
Details
TBA TBA

Men's hosts

HostsNations (Year(s))
2  Soviet Union (1952, 1962)
 Czechoslovakia (1949, 1966)
 France (1956, 1986)
 Brazil (1960, 1990)
 Argentina (1982, 2002)
 Japan (1998, 2006)
 Italy (1978, 2010)
1  Bulgaria (1970)
 Mexico (1974)
 Greece (1994)
 Poland (2014)

Women

Year Host Final 3rd place match Number of teams
Champions Score Runners-up 3rd place Score 4th place
1952
Details
Soviet Union
Soviet Union

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
Bulgaria
8
1956
Details
France
France

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Romania

Poland
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia
17
1960
Details
Brazil
Brazil

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Japan

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
Poland
10
1962
Details
Soviet Union
Soviet Union

Japan
Round-robin
Soviet Union

Poland
Round-robin
Bulgaria
14
1967
Details
Japan
Japan

Japan
Round-robin
United States

South Korea
Round-robin
Peru
4
1970
Details
Bulgaria
Bulgaria

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Japan

North Korea
Round-robin
Hungary
16
1974
Details
Mexico
Mexico

Japan
Round-robin
Soviet Union

South Korea
Round-robin
East Germany
23
1978
Details
Soviet Union
Soviet Union

Cuba
3–0
Japan

Soviet Union
3–1
South Korea
23
1982
Details
Peru
Peru

China
3–0
Peru

United States
3–1
Japan
23
1986
Details
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia

China
3–1
Cuba

Peru
3–1
East Germany
16
1990
Details
China
China

Soviet Union
3–1
China

United States
3–1
Cuba
16
1994
Details
Brazil
Brazil

Cuba
3–0
Brazil

Russia
3–1
South Korea
16
1998
Details
Japan
Japan

Cuba
3–0
China

Russia
3–1
Brazil
16
2002
Details
Germany
Germany

Italy
3–2
United States

Russia
3–1
China
24
2006
Details
Japan
Japan

Russia
3–2
Brazil

Serbia and Montenegro
3–0
Italy
24
2010
Details
Japan
Japan

Russia
3–2
Brazil

Japan
3–2
United States
24
2014
Details
Italy
Italy

United States
3–1
China

Brazil
3–2
Italy
24
2018
Details
Japan
Japan
TBA

Women's hosts

HostsNations (Year(s))
5  Japan (1967, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2018)
3  Soviet Union (1952, 1962, 1978)
2  Brazil (1960, 1994)
1  France (1956)
 Bulgaria (1970)
 Mexico (1974)
 Peru (1982)
 Czechoslovakia (1986)
 China (1990)
 Germany (2002)
 Italy (2014)

Medals summary

Men

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Russia *63312
2 Brazil3205
3 Italy3104
4 Czech Republic ^2406
5 Poland2103
6 Germany #1012
 United States1012
8 Cuba0224
 Romania0224
10 Bulgaria0145
11 Serbia &0112
12 Netherlands0101
13 Japan0022
14 Argentina0011
 France0011
Total18181854

Women

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Russia *72413
2 Japan3317
3 Cuba3104
4 China2305
5 United States1225
6 Italy1001
7 Brazil0314
8 Poland0123
9 Peru0112
10 Romania0101
11 Czech Republic ^0022
 South Korea0022
13 North Korea0011
 Serbia &0011
Total17171751
* = FIVB considers Russia (Since 1993) as the inheritor of the records of Soviet Union (1948–1991) and CIS (1992).
^ = FIVB considers Czech Republic (Since 1994) as the inheritor of the records of Czechoslovakia (1948–1993).
# = After German reunification, West Germany (1949–1990) was renamed Germany (Since 1991) and they absorbed East Germany (1949–1990) with the records.
& = FIVB considers Serbia (Since 2007) as the inheritor of the records of SFR Yugoslavia (1948–1991), FR Yugoslavia (1992–2002) and Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006).

See also

References

  1. "Eugene Selznick". International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  2. Misty May-Treanor, Jill Lieber Steeg (2010). Misty: Digging Deep in Volleyball and Life. Simon and Schuster. Retrieved August 18, 2011.

External links