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Robert Jan "Bob" Ctvrtlik (/stəˈvɜːrtlɪk/;[1] born July 8, 1963) is a retired American volleyball player who is a three-time Olympian, Olympic gold medalist, and a former member of the International Olympic Committee. He is a 1985 graduate of Pepperdine University.[2][3]
| Bob Ctvrtlik | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Robert Jan Ctvrtlik | ||
| Born | July 8, 1963 (age 61) Long Beach, California, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| College / University | Pepperdine University | ||
| Volleyball information | |||
| Position | Outside hitter | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| National team | |||
| |||
Medal record | |||
In 2007, Ctvrtlik was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.[4]
Bob Ctvrtlik was born in Long Beach, California to Margaret and Josef Ctvrtlik.[5] He attended Long Beach Wilson High School in Long Beach.[6]
College
In 1982, Ctvrtlik became a member of the Long Beach City College Vikings volleyball team.[6] He won the state championship and was selected as the MVP of the championship tournament.[6]
In 1983, Ctvrtlik played for Long Beach State and was an All-American.[2] He then transferred to Pepperdine to play his final collegiate year under the leadership and guidance of coaching legend Marv Dunphy,[7] winning the 1985 NCAA title and being selected as the MVP of the tournament.[6][8]
In 2009, Ctvrtlik was inducted into the Pepperdine Hall of Fame.[9]
National team
After a successful college volleyball career, Ctvrtlik joined the United States national team. He won gold medals at the 1985 FIVB World Cup in Japan and the 1986 FIVB World Championship in France.[10][11] In the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Ctvrtlik earned a gold medal by helping to defeat the Soviet Union in the finals.[12] In the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, he became one of the national players who shaved their heads in protest of alleged officiating misconduct.[2][13] The United States defeated Cuba in the consolation match to take home the bronze medal.[14]
After the Barcelona games, Ctvrtlik went to Europe to play in the Italian Club League for Brescia along with fellow Olympian Scott Fortune.[2] He returned to the national team in preparation for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, winning a bronze medal at the 1994 FIVB World Championship in Greece.[11] Ctvrtlik was selected as the Best Player in the World by the International Volleyball Federation in 1995, but the national team would fail to win a medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.[9][15] He was regarded as one of the best serve receivers in the world.[9]
Beach volleyball
Ctvrtlik was a beach volleyball player on the professional four-man circuit.[9] He attained the "AAA" beach rating while playing on the two-man circuit.[9]
In 1996, Ctvrtlik was elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athlete's Commission, and then re-elected for an eight-year term at the 2000 Summer Olympics.[6] He was appointed to the IOC in 1999.[6] He was a founding board member of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and served on the IOC Reform Committee.[11][6]
Ctvrtlik's business concerns include real estate rehabilitation projects as president of Green Street Properties, LLC in Huntington Beach, California, and import-exports, via his company, the Ciram Corporation.[11]
Ctvrtlik and his wife Cosette have three sons: Josef, Erik, and Matthew.[5] Matthew played volleyball for Harvard.[16]
Cvrtlik's father, Josef, a native of Czechoslovakia's Moravian region, was a graduate of Charles University in Prague and knew eight languages.[5] He was imprisoned for three months during the German occupation for refusing to serve as a translator.[5] Josef left his country in 1948 by taking a train from Prague to Bratislava, and then skiing to Austria with three friends.[17][18] After 18 months in West Germany and five years in New Zealand working as a wool buyer, he moved to California in 1955 and worked as a professor at California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State) before his death in 1983 from colon cancer.[5][17]
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