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.
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.
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