Athens, 17 August 2004, Games of the XXVIII Olympiad. Men's beach volleyball: Ricardo Alex SANTOS of Brazil spikes the ball past Joshua SLACK of Australia during the preliminary round at the Faliro Coastal Zone Complex. Credit: Getty Images/Ian Waldie

Sydney, 22 September 2000, Games of the XXVII Olympiad. Men's beach volleyball: Ricardo Alex SANTOS of Brazil leaps for the block during the competition at Bondi Beach. Credit: Getty ImagesAl Bello

Athens, 25 August 2004, Games of the XXVIII Olympiad. Men's beach volleyball: (L to R) Javier BOSMA and Pablo HERRERA of Spain (silver), Emanuel REGO and Ricardo Alex SANTOS of Brazil (gold) and Stephan KOBEL and Patrick HEUSCHER of Switzerland (bronze) stand on the podium during the medal ceremony at the Faliro Coastal Zone Complex. Credit: Getty Images/Robert Laberge

Sydney, 26 September 2000, Games of the XXVII Olympiad. Men's beach volleyball: Dain BLANTON of the United States leaps to block the tip by Ricardo Alex SANTOS of Brazil during the final match at Bondi Beach. Credit: Getty Images/Shaun Botterill

Sydney, 26 September 2000, Games of the XXVII Olympiad. Men's beach volleyball: Silver medallists Ricardo Alex SANTOS and Jose Marco MELO of Brazil acknowledge the crowd during the medal ceremony at Bondi Beach. Credit: Getty Images/Shaun Botterill

Credit: IOC

For further info., please visit http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/disciplines_uk.asp?DiscCode=BV.