Foluke Atinuke Gunderson (née Akinradewo; born October 5, 1987) is an indoor

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

player who plays as a middle blocker for Japanese club

Hisamitsu Springs is a women's volleyball team based in Kobe city, Hyogo and Tosu city, Saga, Japan. It plays in V.League 1. The club was founded in 1948. In July 2020 the team announced an official name change from "Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Springs" to "Hi ...

. Born in Canada, she represents the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

internationally. Gunderson won gold with the national team at the

2010 FIVB World Grand Prix The 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix was a women's volleyball tournament to be played by 12 countries from 6–29 August 2010. The finals were held at the Beilun Gymnasium in Ningbo, China. The United States claimed their 3rd title and Foluke Akinra ...

, 2014 World Championship, the Rimini Volleyball Nations League, and the

2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, silver at the

2012 London Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Her 2020 Olympics win allowed her to complete the trifecta of winning an Olympic bronze, silver, and gold medal.

High school and personal life

Gunderson was born in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, to Ayoola and Comfort Akinradewo. Her siblings are Folu and Foluso Akinradewo. She holds a tri-citizenship with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and the

, and used to audition for commercials when she was little. Gunderson attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she was a three-year letter winner in volleyball and was also on the basketball and track & field teams. She was an All-American selection in 2003 and 2004 and an all-state selection in 2002, 2003 and 2004. She was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Volleyball Player of the Year in 2005. In addition to volleyball, she was an all-state selection in basketball and was a four-time Florida State Champion in track. She made her US international debut before the start of her freshman year at Stanford. She helped the US win the 2004 NORCECA Continental Women's Junior Championship, and then was the starting middle blocker on the U.S. Women's Junior National Team at the 2005 FIVB World Championships.

Stanford

Gunderson majored in human biology at Stanford University. As a freshman in 2005, she was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Pacific Region Freshman of the Year. She was named an AVCA Second Team All-American and led the squad in hitting percentage (.397), a mark which ranked third in the Pac-10, 13th in the nation and third for a single-season in school history. In 2006, she was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team as she led Stanford to an NCAA Division I runner-up finish to

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. For the year, she was named a First Team All-American by the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine. In 2007, Gunderson was named the AVCA National Player of the Year and was the Honda Sports Award winner for volleyball. She broke the Pac-10 and Stanford single season hitting percentage record by more than 50 points, as she averaged .499 percentage, a mark that was first in the nation and second since rally-scoring was introduced in 2001. She was named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team as she led Stanford to their second consecutive Division I national runner-up finish to Penn State. As a senior in 2008, Gunderson repeated as the Pac-10 Player of the Year and got her third consecutive Honda Award nomination. She repeated as a First Team All-American and led Stanford to their third consecutive NCAA title match. She finished her collegiate career with the best career hitting efficiency (.446) of any NCAA Division I player.

Club volleyball

Gunderson joined

Toyota Auto Body Queenseis is a women's volleyball team based in Kariya city, Aichi, Japan. It plays in V.League Division 1. The club was founded in 1951. The owner of the team is Toyota Auto Body. Queenseis is a coined word combining Queen and Seis ("six" in Spanish ...

in October 2010. In the 2010–11 V.Premier League, Gunderson was named the winner of the Spike award. Gunderson won the silver medal in the 2012 FIVB Club World Championship, playing with the Azerbaijani club

Rabita Baku Telekom Baku (formerly named Rabita Baku) was an Azerbaijani women's volleyball club. Telekom was an eight-time champion of Azerbaijani Superleague and the winner of the 2011 FIVB Club World Championship. History The Rabita Bank was founded in 2 ...

. In 2013 Gunderson's club, Rabita Baku, won the Azerbaijan Super League Championship winning their sixth title in a row. She won the league's Best Spiker award.

International career

2012

Gunderson competed for Team USA in the 2012 Summer Olympics. She earned a silver medal for her efforts.

2014

Gunderson was part of the USA national team that won the 2014 World Championship gold medal when the team defeated China 3–1 in the final match. It was the USA's first-ever gold in any of the three major volleyball tournaments.

2016

Gunderson was part of the US bronze medal-winning team at the 2016 Olympics. She started all eight games. She was named in the 2016 Olympic Games Dream Team at middle blocker.

2021

In May 2021, she was named to the 18-player roster for the FIVB Volleyball Nations League tournament. that will be played May 25-June 24 in

Rimini, Italy Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

. It is the only major international competition before the Tokyo Olympics in July. On June 7, 2021, US National Team head coach

Karch Kiraly Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly () (born November 3, 1960) is an American volleyball player, coach and broadcast announcer. In the 1980s he was a central part of the United States men's national volleyball team, U.S National Team that won gold ...

announced she would be part of the 12-player Olympic roster for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

in Tokyo.

Awards

Individual

* '' 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix "Most Valuable Player"'' * '' 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best Blocker"'' * ''2010–2011 Japanese V.League "Spike Award"'' * '' 2012-13 Azerbaijan Super League "Best Spiker"'' * '' 2016 Olympic Games "Best Middle Blocker"'' * '' 2016 FIVB Club World Championship "Best Middle Blocker"'' * '' 2017-2018 Japanese V.League Division 1 "Spike Award"'' * '' 2018-2019 Japanese V.League "Best Middle Blocker"'' * '' 2018-2019 Japanese V.League "Most Valuable Player"''

College

*Four-time AVCA All-American (2005, second team; 2006–08, first team) *Three-time ''Volleyball Magazine'' first team All-American (2006–08) *Four-time All-Pac-10 team (2005–08) *Two-time NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team (2006, 2007) *2008 – ''Volleyball Magazine'' National co-Player of the Year *2008 – Honda Award nominee *2008 – Pac-10 Player of the Year *2007 – AVCA National Player of the Year *2007 – Pac-10 Player of the Year *2007 – Honda Award winner for volleyball *2007 – NCAA Stanford Regional MVP *2007 – Pac-10 Player of the Week (Oct. 1) *2006 – Honda Award nominee *2005 – AVCA Pacific Region Freshman of the Year *2005 – Pac-10 Freshman of the Year

National team

* 2010

Pan-American Volleyball Cup Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

* 2010

FIVB World Grand Prix The FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix was an annual women's volleyball competition created in 1993. The men's version of the competition was called World League. This event should not be confused with the other international volleyball competitio ...

* 2011

Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship * 2011 Gold medal with cup

* 2011

FIVB Women's World Cup * 2012 Gold medal with cup

* 2012

Summer Olympics * 2013 Silver medal with cup

FIVB World Grand Champions Cup The FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup is an international volleyball competition contested by the senior men's and women's national teams of the members of ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The tournament was created in 1993 af ...

* 2013

Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship * 2014 Gold medal with cup

FIVB World Championship * 2015 Gold medal with cup

* 2015

FIVB Women's World Cup * 2015 Gold medal with cup

Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship * 2016 Gold medal with cup

Women's NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament * 2016 Silver medal with cup

* 2016

Summer Olympics * 2017 Bronze medal with cup

* 2018

FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League The FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League is an international volleyball competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The first tournament took place between May a ...

* 2019

FIVB Women's Volleyball Intercontinental Olympic Qualifications Tournament (IOQT) - Qualified * 2019 Silver medal with cup

FIVB Women's World Cup * 2019 Silver medal with cup

Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship * 2021 Gold medal with cup

* 2020

Clubs

(2010-2011) *

Dinamo Krasnodar Dinamo Krasnodar (''russian: Динамо Краснодар'') is a Russian women's volleyball club based in Krasnodar. It was founded in 1946 and plays in the super league, the top Russian league. History Soviet years Founded in 1946, the club ...

(2011–2012) *

(2012–2015) * Voléro Zürich (2015–2017) *

(2017–2019) *

(2020–2021)

References

Sources

Akinradewo Player Bio at gostanford.com

Akinradewo on usavolleyball.org

External links

Foluke Akinradewo
at the

International Volleyball Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunderson, Foluke 1987 births Living people African-American volleyball players Black Canadian sportswomen Canadian women's volleyball players Nigerian women's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Volleyball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Volleyball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Stanford Cardinal women's volleyball players Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian sportspeople of Nigerian descent Volleyball people from Ontario Sportspeople from London, Ontario Olympic silver medalists for the United States in volleyball Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics American women's volleyball players Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in volleyball Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in volleyball Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in volleyball Middle blockers Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women