RIO DE JANEIRO — It was midmorning on Copacabana Beach, six months before the Olympics, and Brazil’s most famous volleyball player, Giovane Gávio, stepped barefoot onto the sand.
It gave under his weight, just enough to leave a loose, collapsing footprint. Gávio bent and scooped countless grains into his hand. It was soft to the touch, more like a fine kitchen spice than pieces of rock.