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 team Karin and Nina Beach volleyball team Karin and Nina Karin Lundqvist and Nina Grawender are professional beach volleyball players from Sweden. They started playing together in February 2013 and by achieving good results on the European Tour and World Tour they were selected as Sweden's national team in September 2013. Karin and Nina are coached by Wesley Pinheiro, from Brazil. Karin Lundqvist and Nina Grawender's best results in 2013 are 9th place at the European Championships in Klagenfurt, Austria, and first place at the Nevza tournaments in Oslo and Gothenburg. Karin Lundqvist was born on October 5, 1981 in Stockholm, Sweden. She started