Brazil make triumphant return to the top of the podium

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 21, 2016 – Brazil gave a lot of joy to the home crowd by winning the men’s volleyball gold medal of Rio 2016 Olympic Games with a straight-set 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 26-24) victory over Italy in front of a delirious full house at Maracanazinho on Sunday.

It was the first straight-set victory in a men’s Olympic final since Sydney 2000 when Yugoslavia beat Russia 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-20) in just 1 hour and 9 minutes.

After coming up short in the last two editions of the Olympics as runners-up in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, the Brazilians captured their third gold medal in the history of the competition. They also finished at the top of the podium in Barcelona 1992 and Athens 2004 and got a silver medal in Los Angeles 1984.

Italy had to …

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