Bernard Rajzman (born 25 April 1957) is a Brazilian former

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player and three-time Olympian. He was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. He was enshrined in the

International Volleyball Hall of Fame The International Volleyball Hall of Fame (IVHF) was founded to honor extraordinary players, coaches, officials, and leaders who have made significant contributions to the game of volleyball. The Hall of Fame is located in Holyoke, Massachusetts ...

in 2005. Nowadays, Bernard is a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC). Rajzman began his sports career at the age of 11, playing

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

for

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...

, but traded the sport for volleyball because he was too short. At the age of 17, he joined the Brazilian men's national volleyball team, for which he played in three consecutive

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

beginning in 1976, winning a silver medal in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. He also won seven

South American Championships A South American Championship is a top level international sports competition between South American athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of South American championships * Basketball ...

, one gold medal at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games, officially known as the IX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Caracas 1983, were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to inclu ...

, a silver medal at the 1982 FIVB World Championship, and a bronze medal at the 1981 FIVB World Cup. Rajzman developed the "Star Trek" serve, adapted from the

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

, in which the ball is hit from below with enough force that it sails dozens of feet over the court.

Personal life

Rajzman is the president of Brazil's National Commission of Athletes, and a state congressman. Rajzman became an IOC member at the

125th IOC Session The 125th IOC Session took place at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 7 to 10 September 2013. On 7 September, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Tokyo as the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympic ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in September 2013. He is the father of professional surfer Phil Rajzman.

References

External links

International Volleyball Hall of Fame profile
* * * * *
Volleybox.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajzman, Bernard 1957 births Living people Jewish Brazilian sportspeople Brazilian people of German-Jewish descent Brazilian men's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic volleyball players for Brazil Olympic silver medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in volleyball Volleyball players from Rio de Janeiro (city) Jewish volleyball players Brazilian International Olympic Committee members Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists in volleyball Pan American Games silver medalists in volleyball Pan American Games bronze medalists in volleyball Pan American Games volleyball players for Brazil Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games International Volleyball Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen

Personal life

See also

References

External links