The Olympic Games are probably the only place where the entire world can watch a small and seemingly weak competitor beat its big and seemingly strong opponent.
Olympic history is full of such examples.
Spiridon Louis did it in the first Olympic marathon race in 1896. Jesse Owens did it to the Germans in 1936. The Soviet Union did it to the Americans in basketball in the 1988 semifinal, and later went on to beat Yugoslavia in the gold medal match. Anthony Nesty of Suriname did it to United States' Matt Biondi at 100 meters butterfly in Seoul.
1 Move for Every MLB Team Before the 2025 Trade Deadline
Bleacher Report19h
Who Would Every NBA Team Save If It Could Only Keep 1 Player?
Bleacher Report19h
Mets Reportedly Trade for Ryan Helsley After Rogers Deal, Cardinals Get 3 Prospects
Bleacher Report7h
The Sydney 2000 Games were no different. Its volleyball tournament will always be remembered after one nation that claimed gold against all odds—Yugoslavia.
The leaders Nikola and Vladimir Grbic, the superstar-on-the-rise Ivan Miljkovic, the server Goran Vujevic, and the coach who brought Yugoslav volleyball international stardom Zoran Gajic, were just some of the faces who sang Yugoslavia’s national anthem Hej, Sloveni (Hey, Slavs) on October 1 in Australia.
In the finals, the Yugoslavs obliterated the Russians in three straight sets—25:22, 25:22, and 25:20. Miljkovic, who scored the last point, dropped on his knees at the end to thank God for the golden moment. Vladimir Grbic waved the Blue, White, and Red flag and screamed on top of his lungs, “This is what we fight for!”
On that early Tuesday morning in Yugoslavia, the entire country was up on its feet.
However, though a gold medal itself was a tremendous feat, the road which the Yugoslavs had to overcome was even more admirable.
In 1999, the entire country had been bombarded by NATO airplanes from March 24 until June 10. The strikes were supposed to prevent further escalation of violence in the region of Kosovo. The estimated damage Yugoslavia suffered ranged from $20 to $100 billion. The country’s infrastructure had been completely destroyed, and its economy had come to a halt.
Yugoslavia withdrew its players from the volleyball World League in 1999 due to the crisis. However, they managed to take part at the European Volleyball Championship in Austria in September, where they won bronze behind Italy and Russia.
The year 2000 was a hallmark year in Yugoslavia’s politics due to national presidential elections. At the time, the country had been torn apart between the communist leader Slobodan Milosevic and the democratic candidate Vojislav Kostunica.
September was the month set for the elections, and the nation’s eyes were focused as much on that as they were on the Sydney Olympics. Milosevic’s victory would bring another four years of isolation, while Kostunica’s would lead to the much needed economic reforms and help from abroad.
Weeks before the elections, police were beating the citizens who were protesting Milosevic, or who simply had a different opinion on issues from the leader. People feared the future. The country was ruled by chaos.
The Olympic Games were seen as a way to shift the focus from the harsh, mundane reality.
Going into the Olympic year, Yugoslav volleyball team represented a venerable opponent. They were the reigning world vice champions from the 1998 Championships, and bronze medalists from the 1999 European Championship and the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
Two months before the start of the Olympics, Yugoslavia was fourth at the Final Six World League tournament in the Netherlands. Ahead of them were Italy, Russia, and Brazil, while the Netherlands and the USA finished fifth and sixth.
Despite their biggest success in the World League to that point, very few people believed that they could win the Games, simply because they had never won a major tournament, and the country had been through a lot of turmoil for the past two years.
When Sydney Olympics started, it seemed that the Yugoslavs would quickly go down in flames. In their first game, they lost to Russia 1-3, although they won the first set 25-19. Then Italy beat them two days later 2-3 after a nerve-racking 20-22 fifth set.
At the beginning of the third round, they were at the bottom of the group, and in a spot to play against either the reigning Olympic champions the Netherlands or the fierce Brazil, who was thirsty to reclaim the gold won in 1992.
However, the Yugoslavs still had to beat at least two teams from their Group B in order to secure the spot in the quarterfinals.
The games against the United States and Argentina were won 3-0 and 3-1 respectively, and the playoffs were secured. The last group match against South Korea showed a lot of insecurity amongst the Yugoslavs, but taking into consideration that coach Gajic rested his most important players, the hard(ly)-earned 3-2 victory wasn’t much a surprise.
What the Yugoslavs did from the quarterfinals on was a true example of determination, devotion, and desire to give their absolute best to the audience at the Games and to a country they represented.
Finishing third in the group, they were faced against the Netherlands in the next round. The Dutch were the defending Olympic champions, and a team against whom the Yugoslavs always lost at major competitions. The biggest, and probably the most unfair loss, was that at the 1997 European Championship final in Rotterdam, when the Dutch, aided by a few bad referee calls, were able to win the title 3-1.
This time, it was going to be different.
After a five-set, 226-point game, the Olympic champion was brought down on its knees 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 25-18, 30-32, 17-15). Thanks to relentless block and unbelievable play in the field and on the