Craig Buck

Craig Buck
portrait
Date of birth	August 24, 1958
place of birth	Los Angeles, USA
size	2.03 m
position	Middle block
National team
1981-1992	A national team
successes
1984 1985 1986 1988	Olympic champion Los Angeles World cup winner in Japan World champion in France Olympic champion Seoul
As of September 12, 2011

Craig Werner Buck (born August 24, 1958 in Los Angeles ) is a former American volleyball player who was twice Olympic champion and once world champion.

Buck began playing volleyball in high school and was a member of the US junior national team from 1976 to 1979. As a student at Pepperdine University , he trained under Marv Dunphy. From 1981 Buck belonged to the US national team, with 2.03 meters in height, the middle blocker was usually the longest player on the team. At the 1984 Olympic Games in his hometown of Los Angeles, Buck was one of the best players as a blocker and as an attacker in the US team, which after the Olympic boycott of the Eastern Bloc teams, won the Olympic gold medal with a final victory over Brazil. This was the US's first ever gold medal in Olympic volleyball.

After the Olympic victory, Marv Dunphy took over the coaching role in the US team. By winning the 1985 World Cup and 1986 World Cup, the Americans proved that they were the best team in the world even if their opponents did not boycott. After the victory at the Pan American Games in 1987, four players from the winning team from 1984 were still in the team at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul . In addition to Craig Buck, these were Charles Kiraly , David Saunders and Steve Timmons . In the final against the Soviet Union, the Americans won 3-1 sets.

Craig Buck also played in the 1990 World Volleyball Championship and was in the US squad for the 1992 Olympic Games, but was no longer used.

With his height, Buck was not only an excellent block player and attacker, he also had very good service, both in the 1984 Olympic gold medal and in the World Cup, he achieved the best service statistics of his team. From 1988 Buck was a professional abroad, he played in France, Italy and Japan. After finishing his career, he settled in Colorado with his wife and child.

In 1998 Craig Buck was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame .

Web links

• Craig Buck in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ United States Olympic Committee: 1992 US Olympic Team Media Guide . P. 164.
2. ^ Hall of Fame