One of the most accomplished and dominant beach volleyball players of all time, Brazilian blocker Alison Cerutti has announced that the next three months will be the last of his long and successful career.

A Rio 2016 Olympic champion, the 39-year-old veteran will play in two events of the American AVP League and in one of the Brazilian Tour before stepping away from the sport that has been his life for the past 20 years.

A Espírito Santo- native, Alison, who was nicknamed “The Mammoth” during his career, will go down as one of the most accomplished players in the history of the sport. Having Bruno Schmidt, Emanuel Rego, Harley Marques and Álvaro Filho as his most successful partners, he got to represent Brazil in three Olympics, winning gold in Rio with Bruno, silver in London 2012 with Emanuel and finishing fifth in Tokyo 2020 with Álvaro.

“I was very happy, way more than I could have ever imagined,” he said. “I look back and can only be proud of everything I did in my career and the decisions I made. I’m very thankful for everything I got to experience in beach volleyball, not only the victories, but the friendships, the experiences, the opportunities and the learning.”

The 2.03m-tall Brazilian, who was one of the most physical blockers to ever play the game, also triumphed in two editions of the FIVB World Championship, winning gold in Rome, in 2011, with Emanuel, and doing it again with Bruno in The Hague in 2015.

Alison played in 152 international events during his career, making it to the podium in 61 of them, winning 28 gold medals, 18 silver and 15 bronze. His last appearance on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour happened in April 2023, when he ranked 19^th in a Challenge event held in Saquarema, Brazil, playing with Oscar Guimarães.

Alison is set to play in two events of the American AVP over the next months, but will return to arguably the most iconic location of his career for his final tournament, appearing in a Brazilian Tour event in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, from October 1-5, with partner Juca.

“Copacabana is a very special place for me, it’s the Maracanã (Brazilian legendary soccer stadium) of beach volleyball,” he added. “That’s where I played some of the most important tournaments of my career and where I won gold at the Olympics. I want to play well in these last tournaments and enjoy the time I have left as a professional player. Then I want to be with my family and enjoy as my kids grow up, but I can’t see myself entirely out of the sport. We’ll see what happens.”