Volleyball is one of the most fun and exciting sports to watch live. This game has been around for hundreds of years and has seen thousands of players across the world excel at it in a variety of tournaments and competitions. In this artice, we’re going to take a look at some of the world’s oldest volleyball players and their careers.
Let’s dive right in.
7 Oldest Volleyball Players in the World
7. Sérgio Dutra dos Santos
Age: 48
Date of birth: 15 October 1975
Place of origin: Diamante do Norte, Brazil
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons
Sérgio Santos is one of the oldest and most respected volleyball players in the world. Throughout the course of his career, he has played the libero position, and is widely considered to be one of the best libero players in the history of volleyball. It’s also worth noting that he has won more awards in his career than any other libero in history!
Back in the 2000s, Santos was awards several medals at every volleyball tournament, making him the most decorated player of the 2000s. He won the South American Championship 7 times and even won the title of World Champion twice, in 2002 and 2006. He has also won various other medals like the World Grand Champions Cup, the World Cup, and the Pan American Games. Most importantly, he has won 4 Olympic medals over the course of his career.Â
Did you know?Â
Sérgio Santos is fondly referred to as Escadinha or Serginho by his fans.
6. Sergey Tetyukhin
Age: 48
Date of birth: 23 September 1975
Place of origin: Ferghana, Uzbekistan, USSR
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons
Sergey Tetyukhin is a one of the world’s oldest volleyball players who has since retired. At 6 feet and 6 inches tall, he is known for his skill on the volleyball court as a passer-attacker. His interest in volleyball began when he was a child, and after being coached by his father, he joined the Krylya Vostoka Tashkent team.
Some years later, Sergey joined the Belogorie Belgorod volleyball club, and spent much of his career playing there. Eventually, his club won the World Championship in 2014, and Sergey continued to win medals and awards throughout the rest of his career.Â
Did you know?Â
Sergey Tetyukhin is one of three male volleyball players in the history of the sport to have won four Olympic medals throughout the course of his career. He is also the only volleyball player in the world to have one a gold, silver, and bronze Olympic medal.
5. Gustavo Endres
Age: 48
Date of birth: August 23, 1975
Place of origin: Passo Fundo, Brazil
Photo Source: Openverse
Gustavo Endres is currently retired, but when he was a volleyball player, he was wildly considered to be one of the best blockers in the history of the sport. He was a part of the Brazilian team from 1997 until 2008 and was a heavily decorated player throughout his time in the sport.
Throughout his time in the Brazilian team, Gustavo won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, and a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics, after which he retired. He also won medals at championships like the South American Championship, the Grand Champions Cup, the World League, and even the World Cup.
Did you know?Â
Gustavo Endres’ brother is also a volleyball player.
4. Nikola Grbić
Age: 50
Date of birth: 6 September 1973
Place of origin: Klek, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons
Although Nikola Grbić is a retired volleyball player, he is also a coach that coaches the Polish national team. Just like the other volleyball players mentioned on this list, he has won several Olympic medals through the course of his career. For instance, he won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics. He has also won several medals at competitions like the World League, World Championships, and the European Championships.
After retiring, Nicola has worked as a coach since 2014. He has coached the Sir Safety Perugia team in Italy, and was also named head coach for the Serbia men’s national volleyball team.
Did you know?Â
Nikola Grbić was awarded Best Setter at the 2010 FIVB World Championship.
3. Samuele Papi
Age: 50
Date of birth: 20 May 1973
Place of origin: Ancona, Italy
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons
Samuele Papi is a retired volleyball player that has played for Italy several times and won his country Olympic medals! His career as a volleyball player has seen him silve and bronze medals at the Olympics, as well as a multiple European Championships and World Championships.
He has also won the CEV Cup twice and the Challenge Cup four times.Â
Did you know?Â
Samuele Papi has been awarded the Officer’s Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and the Knight’s Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
2. Goran Vujević
Age: 51
Date of birth: 27 February 1973
Place of origin: Cetinje, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons
Goran Vujević is one of the world’s oldest and most talented volleyball players. His career began as a child, when he developed a keen interest in the game. After joining the Yugoslav team in 1996, they won the bronze medal at the Summer Olympics.
The team later went on to win gold at the Summer Olympics in 2000.
Did you know?Â
Goran Vujević was born in Cetinje.
1. Igor Shulepov
Age: 51
Date of birth: 16 November 1972
Place of origin: Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk, Russia
Photo Source: Worldofvolley.com
Igor Shulepov is the world’s oldest volleyball player. His career as a volleyball player began when he was a child, though he later went on to have a successful career as an Olympic-level athlete.
Did you know?
Igor Shulepov played in all eight matches at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Conclusion
In this article, we took a closer look at some of the oldest volleyball players in the world. We were interested to learn that most of these players originated in South American and Slavic countries. We also learned that volleyball is a popular sport all over the world, but particularly in these countries.
We hope you enjoyed this article and learned something new from it.
