Italvolley has its own Russian star. Born in Moscow 27 years ago, he arrived in Italy thanks to his dad. The hitter is actually the son of an athlete: before becoming a coach, his father Yaroslav, as a player for the Soviet Union, won the silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 2015, he swore his allegiance before the mayor of Silea and became the first Russian/Italian in the hinterland of Treviso, where he lives with his wife Laura and daughter Sofia. He splits his free time between Italy and Moscow, although he prefers to spend his holidays at the sea. In Rio, however, he will only be thinking about volleyball.