Beach volleyball was first introduced at the 1992 Games as a demonstration sport (or was it?), becoming an official sport four years later at the Olympic Games in 1996. Indoor volleyball has been officially played at the Olympic Games since 1964, though it appeared earlier as a demonstration sport.

beach volleyball at the Paris Olympicsbeach volleyball at the Paris Olympics

The beach volleyball tournament at the Olympic Games typically follows a format that includes a preliminary round, knockout rounds, and medal matches. In the preliminary round, teams are divided into groups and play a round-robin format within their group.

Beach volleyball matches are played as best-of-three sets, with the first two sets played to 21 points and a potential third set played to 15 points. The top teams from each group advance to the knockout rounds, which consist of single-elimination matches leading to the medal matches.

Beach Volleyball in Paris 2024

The volleyball competition in Paris 2024 involved 24 men's and 24 women's teams participating.

Men Beach Volleyball Winners

Olympiad Winners Players
2024 Sweden David Åhman & Jonatan Hellvig
2020 Norway Anders Mol & Christian Sørum
2016 Brazil Alison Cerutti & Bruno Oscar Schmidt
2012 Germany Julius Brink & Jonas Reckermann
2008 USA Phil Dalhausser & Todd Rogers
2004 Brazil Emanuel Rego & Ricardo Santos
2000 USA Dain Blanton & Eric Fonoimoana
1996 USA Karch Kiraly & Kent Steffes

Women Beach Volleyball Winners

Olympiad Winners Players
2024 Brazil Ana Patrícia & Duda Lisboa
2020 USA Alix Klineman & April Ross
2016 Germany Laura Ludwig & Kira Walkenhorst
2012 USA Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings
2008 USA Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings
2004 USA Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings
2000 Australia Natalie Cook & Kerri Pottharst
1996 Brazil Sandra Pires & Jackie Silva

Trivia

  • US player Karch Kiraly is the only player who has won both indoor and beach volleyball Olympic gold medals.
  • The best all-time performing beach volleyball player at the Olympic Games is US player Kerri Walsh with three gold and one bronze from 2004 to 2016. See more on the Greatest Volleyball Players at the Olympics.
  • Twice USA teams have faced off in the gold medal match. For men's beach volleyball in 1996 there were two USA teams against each other in the final, and in the women's 2012 final match again two USA teams battled for the gold medal.