Women's European Volleyball Championship

The Women's European Volleyball Championship is the official competition for senior women's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV). The initial gap between championships was variable, but since 1975 they have been awarded every two years. The current champion is Serbia, which won its third title at the 2019 tournament in Turkey.

Women's European Volleyball Championship
Current season, competition or edition:
2019 Women's European Volleyball Championship
SportVolleyball
Founded1949
No. of teams24 (Finals)
ContinentEurope (CEV)
Most recent
champion(s)
 Serbia (3rd title)
Most titles Soviet Union (13 titles)

History

The first tournament was held in 1949 with participation of seven national teams. It was dominated by teams from Eastern Europe, who at that times were strongest teams not only at the European continent but also in the whole world. The teams from Eastern Europe dominated at the tournament for next four and half decades. The first European title was won by Soviet Union, who also won two next editions – in 1950 and 1951. At all three tournaments the Soviet team demonstrated overwhelming advantage – they not only won all matches, but also didn't lose any single set. This achievement was repeated by Soviet Union at the first Women's World Championship which was held in 1952 in Moscow.

In 1955, Czechoslovakia managed to break Soviet dominance and to win European gold after 3-2 victory over a Soviet Union in a decisive match at the tournament. However, Soviet team returned at first positions after victory at the 1956 World Championship next year. At the next 1958 European Championship which was held in Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union took revenge and returned European title after 3-2 victories over host team and Poland who captured silver and bronze medals respectively.

The victory in 1958 marked the beginning of the era of dominance of the Soviet Union which lasted for more than two decades. From 1958 to 1979, Soviet team didn't lose any tournament by winning 7 European titles in a row. At the next European Championship which was held in 1963, Soviet Union defended own title after difficult 3-2 victory over a Poland in a decisive match of the final round. But at next two European tournaments – in 1967 and 1971 – Soviet team demonstrated overwhelming advantage not losing any single set in all matches. European Championships held in 1975 and 1977 were also won relatively easy as all matches ended with either 3-0 or 3-1 victories. However, at the 1979 European Championship, Soviet Union faced with serious resistance from opponents. In preliminary round, Soviet Union lost 2-3 to Poland. It was only second defeat of the Soviet team at the European Championships and also their first defeat within 24 years. It, however, affected little at outcome of the tournament as Polish team was eliminated after preliminary round while Soviet team won gold medals after difficult 3-2 victories over a Romania and Bulgaria in the final round. During these two decades, Soviet Union was not only dominant power in Europe but also world volleyball superpower by winning two Olympic titles (1968, 1972), two World Championships (1960, 1970) and first edition of the Women's World Cup held in 1973.

After victory at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, a power of the Soviet team started to decline. At the next 1981 European Championship which was held in Bulgaria, home team finally managed to break Soviet dominance. Bulgaria won their maiden European title after 3-0 victory over a Soviet Union in a decisive match of the final round which was held in Sofia. The next four European Championships were marked by rivalry between Soviet Union and East Germany. In 1983, playing at home, East Germany obtained a remarkable victory over Soviets after trailing 0-2 in a decisive match of the final round which was held in Rostock and won their maiden European title. Two years later Soviet team took revenge and returned European title after 3-0 victory over East Germany in a decisive match of the final round. But in 1987 East Germany won European Championship for second time after 3-2 victory over Soviet Union in a final march. The last European final between these national teams took place in 1989 in Stuttgart, West Germany. Soviet team won 3-1 and returned European title.

In the late 1980s, Soviet Union was managed to return status of volleyball superpower not only in Europe but also in the world by winning 1988 Olympic Games and 1990 World Championships. At the 1991 European Championship, Soviet team demonstrated overwhelming advantage not losing any single set in all matches – including 3-0 victories over unified Germany in semifinals and Netherlands in the final match. It however was their last participation at the competition. Soviet national team finished its history with remarkable statistics - they won 13 of 17 European Championships (not losing any single set in all matches at 6 of 13 victorious tournaments), suffered only 5 defeats in 116 matches, with set ratio 341:43.

Following the Soviet Union's dissolution in December 1991, Russia (official inheritor of the Soviet team) continued to dominate in Europe. It's remarkable that their main European rival at those times (who became runner-up for the three times in a row) was Croatia strengthened by some former Soviet players such as Irina Kirillova, Yelena Chebukina, Tatyana Sidorenko and Maria Likhtenstein. In 1995, playing at home, Netherlands managed to break this dominance after 3-1 victory over a Russia in semifinals and 3-0 victory over Croatia in a final match which was held in Arnhem. This victory became historical not only for Netherlands, but also for whole Western Europe. At the next two editions – in 1997 and 1999 – Russia returned at first positions after 3-0 victories over Croatia in both final matches. But in the 2001 European Championship final Russian team faced with stronger resistance from the new rising European power – Italy (who became World Champion next year). Russia achieved difficult victory in a five-set match. Nikolay Karpol won European title as head coach for the record seventh time (starting from 1979 victory).

After victory in 2001, the period of Russia's dominance came to end, and more national teams were managed to win their maiden European title. The next tournament was surprisingly won by Poland while Russia (2001 European Champion) and Italy (2002 World Champion) faced only in 5th place match. At the 2005 European Championship, Polish team proved non-randomness of this success after 3-2 victory over a Russia in semifinals and 3-1 victory over Italy in a final match. In 2007, Italy won their maiden European title by beating Serbia 3-0 in a final match. At next European Championships, Italian team repeated this success after 3-0 victory over Netherlands in a final. In 2011, playing at home, Serbia managed to win their maiden European title after remarkable 3-2 victory over Germany in a final match which was held in Belgrade. The next two European Championships held in 2013 and 2015 were won by Russia who managed to beat home teams in the both final matches (3-1 over Germany in Berlin and 3-0 over Netherlands in Rotterdam respectively).

The 2017 European Championship took place in Azerbaijan and Georgia. The 2019 European Championship was co-hosted by Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Turkey in 2019. Both tournaments were finished with Serbia's success who also won World Championships in 2018.

The 31 European Championship tournaments have been won by eight nations. Russia have won nineteen times (thirteen as Soviet Union). The other European Championship winners are Serbia, with three titles; Germany (as East Germany), Italy and Poland, with two titles each; and Bulgaria, Czech Republic as (Czechoslovakia) and Netherlands, with one title each.

The current format of the competition involves a qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding two years, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase, which is often called the European Championship Finals. 16 teams, including the automatically qualifying host nation(s), compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about two weeks. For the 2019 edition the number of participants in the Finals was increased from 16 to 24.

Results summary

Year Host Final 3rd place match Teams
Champions Score Runners-up 3rd place Score 4th place
1949
Details

Czechoslovakia

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Poland
Round-robin
Romania
7
1950
Details

Bulgaria

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
Bulgaria
6
1951
Details

France

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Yugoslavia
Round-robin
France
6
1955
Details

Romania

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
Soviet Union

Poland
Round-robin
Romania
6
1958
Details

Czechoslovakia

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Poland
Round-robin
Romania
12
1963
Details

Romania

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Romania
Round-robin
East Germany
13
1967
Details

Turkey

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
East Germany
15
1971
Details

Italy

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Poland
Round-robin
Bulgaria
18
1975
Details

Yugoslavia

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Hungary

East Germany
Round-robin
Bulgaria
12
1977
Details

Finland

Soviet Union
3–0
East Germany

Hungary
3–2
Poland
12
1979
Details

France

Soviet Union
Round-robin
East Germany

Bulgaria
Round-robin
Hungary
12
1981
Details

Bulgaria

Bulgaria
Round-robin
Soviet Union

Hungary
Round-robin
East Germany
12
1983
Details

East Germany

East Germany
Round-robin
Soviet Union

Hungary
Round-robin
Bulgaria
12
1985
Details

Netherlands

Soviet Union
Round-robin
East Germany

Netherlands
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia
12
1987
Details

Belgium

East Germany
3–2
Soviet Union

Czechoslovakia
3–0
Bulgaria
12
1989
Details

West Germany

Soviet Union
3–1
East Germany

Italy
3–0
Romania
12
1991
Details

Italy

Soviet Union
3–0
Netherlands

Germany
3–1
Italy
12
1993
Details

Czech Republic

Russia
3–0
Czechoslovakia

Ukraine
3–1
Italy
12
1995
Details

Netherlands

Netherlands
3–0
Croatia

Russia
3–0
Germany
12
1997
Details

Czech Republic

Russia
3–0
Croatia

Czech Republic
3–0
Bulgaria
12
1999
Details

Italy

Russia
3–0
Croatia

Italy
3–0
Germany
8
2001
Details

Bulgaria

Russia
3–2
Italy

Bulgaria
3–1
Ukraine
12
2003
Details

Turkey

Poland
3–0
Turkey

Germany
3–2
Netherlands
12
2005
Details

Croatia

Poland
3–1
Italy

Russia
3–0
Azerbaijan
12
2007
Details

Belgium / Luxembourg

Italy
3–0
Serbia

Russia
3–1
Poland
16
2009
Details

Poland

Italy
3–0
Netherlands

Poland
3–0
Germany
16
2011
Details

Italy / Serbia

Serbia
3–2
Germany

Turkey
3–2
Italy
16
2013
Details

Germany / Switzerland

Russia
3–1
Germany

Belgium
3–2
Serbia
16
2015
Details

Belgium / Netherlands

Russia
3–0
Netherlands

Serbia
3–0
Turkey
16
2017
Details

Azerbaijan / Georgia

Serbia
3–1
Netherlands

Turkey
3–1
Azerbaijan
16
2019[1]
Details

Slovakia / Hungary / Poland / Turkey

Serbia
3–2
Turkey

Italy
3–0
Poland
24
2021[2]
Details

Serbia / Croatia / Bulgaria / Romania
24

Total hosts

HostsNations (Year(s))
4 Italy (1971, 1991, 1999, 2011*)
3 Belgium (1987, 2007*, 2015*)
 Bulgaria (1950, 1981, 2001)
 Netherlands (1985, 1995, 2015*)
 Turkey (1967, 2003, 2019*)
2 Czech Republic (1993, 1997)
 Czechoslovakia (1949, 1958)
 France (1951, 1979)
 Poland (2009, 2019*)
 Romania (1955, 1963)
1 Azerbaijan (2017*)
 Croatia (2005)
 East Germany (1983)
 Finland (1977)
 Georgia (2017*)
 Germany (2013*)
 Hungary (2019*)
 Luxembourg (2007*)
 Serbia (2011*)
 Slovakia (2019*)
  Switzerland (2013*)
 West Germany (1989)
 Yugoslavia (1975)
* = co-hosts

Medals summary

Euro Women's Championship 2015
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Soviet Union134017
2 Russia6039
3 Serbia3115
4 Poland24511
5 East Germany2417
6 Italy2237
7 Czechoslovakia1438
8 Netherlands1416
9 Bulgaria1023
10 Croatia0303
11 Germany0224
 Turkey0224
13 Hungary0134
14 Belgium0011
 Czech Republic0011
 Romania0011
 Ukraine0011
 Yugoslavia0011
Totals (18 nations)31313193

Participating nations

Team
1949
(7)

1950
(6)

1951
(6)

1955
(6)

1958
(12)

1963
(13)

1967
(15)

1971
(18)

1975
(12)

1977
(12)

1979
(12)

1981
(12)

1983
(12)

1985
(12)

1987
(12)

1989
(12)

1991
(12)

1993
(12)

1995
(12)

1997
(12)

1999
(8)

2001
(12)

2003
(12)

2005
(12)
 Albania11th
 Austria12th12th17th
 AzerbaijanPart of  Soviet Union4th
 BelarusPart of  Soviet Union8th8th11th
 Belgium14th12th12th12th
 Bulgaria4th5th5th5th6th4th4th7th3rd1st4th10th4th7th7th9th5th4th7th3rd7th9th
 Czech RepublicSee  Czechoslovakia10th3rd10th11th
 CroatiaPart of  Yugoslavia6th2nd2nd2nd9th8th
 Denmark13th16th
 England18th
 Finland12th12th
 France5th4th9th13th11th10th8th7th10th9th8th
 GermanySee  East Germany and  West Germany3rd5th4th10th4th11th3rd11th
 Greece12th8th12th12th
 Hungary6th6th6th6th7th5th5th2nd3rd4th3rd3rd9th10th
 Israel8th11th
 Italy6th11th8th9th11th8th7th5th6th3rd4th4th6th5th3rd2nd6th2nd
 LatviaPart of  Soviet Union11th12th8th
 Netherlands7th5th10th9th7th9th11th10th6th9th11th3rd5th2nd7th1st9th5th5th4th5th
 Poland3rd2nd2nd3rd3rd2nd2nd3rd6th4th8th5th9th7th11th9th10th9th6th8th6th1st1st
 Romania4th5th4th4th3rd9th7th7th6th5th7th6th11th8th4th6th10th12th6th7th8th10th
 RussiaSee  Soviet Union1st3rd1st1st1st5th3rd
 SlovakiaPart of  Czechoslovakia12th
 Spain12th
 Sweden15th15th12th
  Switzerland13th12th
 Turkey10th12th12th11th11th2nd6th
 UkrainePart of  Soviet Union3rd7th7th4th9th
Discontinued nations
 Czechoslovakia2nd3rd1st2nd6th3rd2nd5th5th7th6th8th4th3rd5th5th2ndSee  Czech Republic
 East Germany8th4th4th6th3rd2nd2nd4th1st2nd1st2ndSee  Germany
 Serbia and MontenegroSee  Yugoslavia10th7th
 Soviet Union1st1st1st2nd1st1st1st1st1st1st1st2nd2nd1st2nd1st1stSee  Russia
 West Germany11th11th10th10th10th8th9th10th5th6th9th6thSee  Germany
 Yugoslavia3rd7th8th14th8th9th10th11th8th12thSee  Serbia and Montenegro
Team

2007
(16)

2009
(16)


2011
(16)


2013
(16)


2015
(16)


2017
(16)




2019
(24)
Total
 Albania1
 Austria3
 Azerbaijan12th12th9th15th14th4th10th8
 Belarus16th15th12th9th7th22nd9
 Belgium7th11th3rd6th14th9th10
 Bulgaria11th8th14th13th13th9th8th29
 Czech Republic9th10th8th10th11th12th10
 Croatia14th16th12th5th10th11th11th13
 Denmark2
 England1
 Estonia23rd1
 Finland18th3
 France8th14th10th8th21st16
 Georgia16th1
 Germany6th4th2nd2nd5th8th6th15
 Greece14th5
 Hungary12th15th20th17
 Israel16th3
 Italy1st1st4th6th7th5th3rd25
 Latvia3
 Netherlands5th2nd7th9th2nd2nd5th28
 Poland4th3rd5th11th8th10th4th30
 Portugal24th1
 Romania12th15th13th25
 Russia3rd6th6th1st1st6th7th14
 Serbia2nd7th1st4th3rd1st1st7
 Slovakia13th13th12th4
 Slovenia16th16th2
 Spain15th9th11th16th15th6
 Sweden3
  Switzerland14th19th4
 Turkey10th5th3rd7th4th3rd2nd14
 Ukraine15th13th17th8

MVP by edition

Most successful players

Boldface denotes active volleyball players and highest medal count among all players (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

Multiple gold medalists

Rank Player Country From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1Natalya Morozova Soviet Union
 Russia
19912001516
Yelena Tyurina (Batukhtina) Soviet Union
 Russia
19892001516
3Yelena Chebukina (Ovchinnikova) Soviet Union
 Russia
 Croatia
19831997448
4Valentina Ogiyenko Soviet Union
 Russia
198319954217
5Aleksandra Chudina Soviet Union19491958415
6Yevgeniya Artamonova Russia19932001415
Yelizaveta Tishchenko Russia19932001415
8Nina Smoleyeva Soviet Union1967197744
Militiya Yeremeyeva (Kononova) Soviet Union1949195844
10Lyudmila Buldakova (Meshcheryakova) Soviet Union19551971314
Lyudmila Chernyshyova Soviet Union19751981314
Irina Ilchenko (Smirnova) Soviet Union
 Russia
19871993314
Nadezhda Radzevich (Zezyulya) Soviet Union19751981314
Tatyana Sidorenko Soviet Union
 Croatia
19851997314

Multiple medalists

The table shows those who have won at least 5 medals in total at the European Championships.

Rank Player Country From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1Yelena Chebukina (Ovchinnikova) Soviet Union
 Russia
 Croatia
19831997448
2Valentina Ogiyenko Soviet Union
 Russia
198319954217
3Natalya Morozova Soviet Union
 Russia
19912001516
Yelena Tyurina (Batukhtina) Soviet Union
 Russia
19892001516
5Yelena Godina Russia19952007336
6Aleksandra Chudina Soviet Union19491958415
7Yevgeniya Artamonova Russia19932001415
Yelizaveta Tishchenko Russia19932001415
9Eleonora Lo Bianco Italy199920092215
Ariane Radfan East Germany
 Germany
198319912215
Ute Steppin (Oldenburg) East Germany
 Germany
198319912215
12Irina Kirillova (Parkhomchuk) Soviet Union
 Croatia
19831997145

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.