Olympics 101
A sport-by-sport crash course
VOLLEYBALL Keep your eye on the 70-mph serve ORIGINS. Invented in 1895 by William Morgan, a Massachusetts YMCA physical education instructor, as a less strenuous alternative to the new sport of basketball for middle-aged businessmen. The rules have changed over the years: Originally the ball could be played off the walls or other obstacles and there was no limit to the number of people on each side. Volleyball became an Olympic event for men and women in 1964. WHAT IT TAKES. In the Olympics, teams of six compete. The winner is the first to reach 15 points with a two-point margin. To start each serve with extra speed, most teams perform a "jump serve." The server starts 10 to 15 feet behind the base line, runs up and serves the ball while airborne (it's illegal to be on the ground in the court while serving). A well-executed jump serve can cross the net at 70 mph--about 20 mph faster than a normal serve. The catch is that jump serves are mighty hard to complete; each team typically misses 30 to 40 jump serves per match, about three times greater than the botch rate for earthbound serves. Blowing a serve can be a deciding factor in a tight match. BEHIND THE SCENES. The shortest member of the U.S. men's squad is 6 foot 3; the women's team averages around 6 feet. That's a big change from just 12 years ago, when most of the U.S. men's players hovered around 6 foot 3. Withthese squads of giants, there should be increased intensity at the net, including faster spikes (traveling at 80 mph) and more blocked shots.
OLYMPIANS TO WATCH GOLD DIGGERS: The U.S. women look good for gold, led by Teee Williams (one of the game's highest jumpers, she can reach almost 11 feet) and Tara Cross-Battle (a superb all-around player). In men's volleyball, the Italian team, captained by ball pounder Andrea Giani, and the Brazilian squad, under superquick Marcelo Negrao, are the top teams because of their power, experience and depth. DARK HORSES: The U.S. men's team could medal. It recently knocked off tough rivals like Cuba and Russia in international competition. At the helm of the team are veteran gold medal winners Jeff Stork, Scott Fortune and Bob Ctvrtlik, all making their third Olympic appearances. Ctvrtlik (pronounced stuh-VURT-lick) even has a Trivial Pursuit question named after him: "Who is the 1988 Olympic gold medalist the Brazilians nicknamed 'Buy-a-vowel?' " VIEWER'S GUIDE: Women's semifinals, August 1; men's semifinals, August 2; women's finals, August 3; men's finals, August 4.
EXPERT'S EYE "Volleyball players get the same kinds of shoulder injuries baseball pitchers do. A volleyball player may spike the ball 100 times a day, five days a week, 11 months a year." --Jim Coleman Coach, 1968 U.S. men's team
SPORTS TALK HUSBAND-AND-WIFE DEFENSE: When two defensive players fail to communicate and the ball drops between them.
Atlanta's beach boys and girls The court's the same size as in indoor volleyball--but two teammates cover it all on speed-stealing sand. New to the Olympics, beach volleyball comes with its own slang ("stink eye": a nasty look for a flub). America's Karch Kiraly--an indoor gold medalist--and Kent Steffes are the men to beat. Finals: women's, July 27; men's, July 28.
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