Beach volleyball the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) was founded. At the professional level, the sport remained fairly obscure until the 1980s when beach volleyball experienced a surge in popularity with high-profile players such as Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, and Karch Kiraly. Kiraly won an Olympic gold medal in beach volleyball in its first Olympic appearance in 1996, adding that to the two Olympic golds he won as part of the USA men's indoor team, and has won 142 titles. In the 1980s, the sport gained popularity on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1986, the
Beach volleyball as a player-run organization. In 2001, the AVP reemerged as a for-profit, publicly traded company that combined the men's and women's professional tours, with equal prize money for both sexes. After filing for bankruptcy again in 2010, the AVP re-emerged under new leadership in 2013 as the main professional beach volleyball tour in the United States. Beach volleyball has become a global sport, with international competition organized by the FIVB. Brazil and the USA are dominant, with 20 of the 30 Olympic medals awarded to date between them, and 16 of the 20 gold and silver medals. But the sport's