Robert Jan "Bob" Ctvrtlik (; born July 8, 1963) is an American volleyball player, Olympic gold medalist, businessman and former member of the International Olympic Committee. He is a 1985 graduate of Pepperdine University. Early life Bob Ctvrtlik was born in Long Beach, California to Margaret and Josef Ctvrtlik. He has two older brothers, Jeffrey and David. Their father, a native of Czechoslovakia's Moravian region, was a graduate of Charles University in Prague and knew eight languages. He was imprisoned for three months during the German occupation for refusing to serve as a translator. Josef left his country in 1948 by taking a train from Prague to Bratislava and then skiing to Austria with three friends. 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. Bob Ctvrtlik graduated from Pepperdine University in 1985. Playing career Playing for Pepperdine, Ctvrtlik was the Most Valuable Player in NCAA volleyball in 1985. He also played for Long Beach State in 1983-1984, where he earned all-league honors. In 1982-1983, he was a member of the Long Beach City College Vikings Men's Volleyball team, playing under Vikings head coach Gary Jacobson, where he and longtime friend and doubles partner, Allan Treffry, won the volleyball championship for the State of California. They would eventually be ranked number one in the United States. Ctvrtlik earned all league honors and was awarded the most valuable player in the state championship tournament. Ctvrtlik subsequently played a year for Long Beach State, under 49ers (now Beach) coach Ray Ratelle. After one year, he transferred to Pepperdine, to play his final collegiate year under the leadership and guidance of coaching legend Marv Dunphy, winning both the NCAA Title and personally, the NCAA's Most Valuable Player Award. After a successful college volleyball career, Ctvrtlik followed Dunphy to the United States national team, where he quickly earned a starting position. In the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, Ctvrtlik, playing opposite volleyball legend, Karch Kiraly, earned a gold medal by defeating the Soviet Union in the finals. For several years, Ctvrtlik played professionally in Italy, including winning the well-respected Euro-professional league championship. He returned to the United States Olympic team in preparation for the 1992 Summer