Carlos Arthur Nuzman (b. 1942) was born in Rio de Janeiro, the grandson of Russian-Jewish immigrants to Brazil. His father was very active in the Jewish community, and served as the president of the Rio Jewish Federation.
As a child, Nuzman started playing volleyball at the Brazilian Israelite Club. At 15, he began playing the sport professionally. A few years later, he made it to Brazil’s national team, and competed at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He also participated in four Maccabiah Games in Israel.
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Meanwhile, Nuzman studied in law school and became a successful lawyer in Brazil. In 1975, he became the president of the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation, a post he held for twenty years until he moved up to become the president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee.
Since 2012, he has been in charge of organizing the 2016 Olympic Games in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, which begin tomorrow. He has made sure that there is a large Jewish presence in these games, hiring two fellow Brazilian Jews as CEO and deputy CEO of the Committee, and ensuring there will be a ceremony to honour the Israeli terror victims of the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Nuzman has also hired Israeli firm ISDS, who will be working with some 30 other Israeli companies to provide security and logistics for these Olympics. His nephew is a rabbi at one of Rio’s largest synagogues, which will be hosting a special Shabbaton for over 300 guests during the Olympic Games. In 2007, Nuzman was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame.
