Three Times the GoldAnd the End of a Era

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On August 8, 2012 in London, England history was made in beach volleyball when Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty

May-Treanor won their third consecutive Olympic gold medal. With this win Walsh and May became one of the greatest beach volley-ball teams in the world.

Walsh and May started their 12 year partnership during 2004 Olympics in Athens when they won their first gold medal. Through the years Walsh and May have never lost an Olympic matchand lost only one set out of 43. They are the only team in history to go undefeated in Olympic play.

In the 2012 Olympics in London, Walsh and May won their third medal in an all-American Championship against the team of April Ross and Jen Kessy.

Walsh and May have domi-nated the past three Olym-pic games with perfection. No man or woman in his-tory has ever gone unbeat-en in any event for three straight Oylimpic games. They have setten a bar in the beach volleyball world that will be hard to beat.

“Kerri and I, we want to go down as the best team in history,” May said to NBC.

“Misty and I have some-thing really special. The

world knows it, we know it, and we embrace it,” Walsh

said to NBC.

© Photo By CBS Sports

© Photo By CBS Sports

May announced that London will be her last Olympics and that she will retire. Walsh on the other hand wants to go for a forth medal in 2016. She is looking at two options for a partner, April Ross or Nicole Branagh. May is planning to play with Branagh in a FIVB event in Poland.

The team of Walsh and May will go down in Olympic history as the best beach volleyball team with 21 straight wins and three consecu-tive gold medals. They made the sport more

popular around the world, and are models of great determination, skill, and teamwork.

“Nicole is such a no-brainer,” Walsh said. “She deser ves

it.”

“I really think its something that can’t be done again,

and that’s why its so special,”

May said.

With May retiring and Walsh finding a new partner for the next Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, beach volleyball will change. The team of Walsh and May may be over but what they did in the past 12 years will not be forgotton. They will always be one of the best teams in the sport of beach volleyball.

© Photo By CBS Sports

© Photo By CBS Sports

Kerri Walsh JenningsHometown: Santa Clara, CA

Height: 6’3”Weight: 154 lbs.

College: Stanford UniversityCollege: 4 yr. first team All-American

Olympics: 2012, 2008, 2004, 2000(indoor)Olympics: 3 gold medals

Misty May-Treanor

Hometown: Costa Mesa, CAHeight: 5’10”

Weight: 154 lbs.College: Long Beach State

College: 1998 NCAA ChampionshipOlympics: 2012, 2008, 2004, 2000

Olympics: 3 gold medals