One month on, Rio in our hearts

Lausanne, Switzerland, September 21, 2016 - One month after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games we look back at a true celebration of volleyball.

It's August 21 - the final day of the Olympics - and hosts Brazil are a victory away from winning gold in the men's volleyball tournament. Cheered on by a delirious full house at the Maracanãzinho, the home team claims a straight-sets 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 26-24) victory over Italy to do the Brazilian crowd proud.




The Maracanãzinho just minutes ahead of the men's final in Rio de Janeiro.

The Maracanãzinho, the traditional home of volleyball in Rio de Janeiro, is packed for a pulsating final. The home team's victory means Brazil claim gold again after victories at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games and Athens 2004 Olympic Games and consecutive silver medals in Beijing in 2008 and in London in 2012. After the match, an emotional awarding ceremony serves as a fitting conclusion to a remarkable tournament for the hosts and for the 24 teams involved in the men's and women's competitions.


An emotional moment on the podium for Brazil´s William Arjona, Sergio Santos and Luiz Fonteles

Four Brazilian players are voted onto the FIVB's Dream Team for the Olympic tournament, including opposite Wallace Souza, outside hitter Roberto Lucarelli, libero Sergio Santos (also voted the tournament's MVP) and setter Bruno Rezende.



Italy take silver after defeating France, USA, Mexico and hosts Brazil in Preliminary Round Pool A, before losing to Canada. In the final - after defeating Iran in the quarters and USA in the semis - they are unable to repeat their Preliminary Round result against the hosts and lose to a Brazilian team at the top of their game.


The Italian team celebrate winning silver

In the match for third place - earlier in the day - USA battle back from two sets down to defeat reigning Olympic champions Russia and claim bronze.


It took five sets for USA to defeat Russia in the match for third place

Visit our Rio 2016 Olympic Games pages below to look back at this summer's big event. And remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages for even more content. The next time an Olympic volleyball tournament takes place is in 2020, when Tokyo will host the Games. Read more here.