May-Treanor, Misty, and Walsh, Kerri

▪ 2009

born July 30, 1977, Los Angeles, Calif.

born Aug. 15, 1978, Santa Clara, Calif.

 For American duo Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in 2008, not even water falling from the Beijing sky could rain on their parade as they became the first beach volleyball team to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals. In the final match on August 21, May-Treanor and Walsh ignored a steady downpour and drenched bathing suits to beat Wang Jie and Tian Jia of China 21–18, 21–18 to continue their four-year reign over women's beach volleyball. The match was the American pair's 108th consecutive victory and their 14th straight Olympics win (they did not lose a set either in Beijing or in Athens at the 2004 Olympics). In their first post-Olympic tournament, May-Treanor and Walsh extended their winning streak to 112 matches, but it came to an end on August 31 with a 21–19, 10–21, 25–23 loss to Olympic teammates Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh in the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) Crocs Cup Shootout in Mason, Ohio. The defeat also ended the pair's streak of 19 straight titles—quite an accomplishment for a team that had started playing together only in 2001.

      Misty May grew up in California and played indoor volleyball at Long Beach State, where she led her team to the 1998 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) title in her senior year. She then played for the U.S. national indoor team at the Pan Am Games, after which she decided to try her hand at beach volleyball instead. She teamed with Holly McPeak at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, finishing fifth after losing in the quarterfinals.

      Meanwhile, 1.9-m (6-ft 2-in) Kerri Lee Walsh helped Stanford University win consecutive NCAA indoor volleyball titles in 1996 and 1997; she was named national co-player of the year in 1999. She moved on to play for the U.S. indoor team at the Sydney Games, finishing fourth.

      May and Walsh teamed up on the sand in 2001 to finish with the number five ranking in the world before reaching number one in 2002. They got even better in 2003, winning a then-record 90 straight matches and all eight tournaments in which they played, including the world championships, where they upset the defending Brazilian champions in the final. That success carried over to the 2004 Olympics, in which they became the first American female tandem to win gold in beach volleyball. Following the Athens Games, they captured two more world titles, in 2005 and 2007.

      In November 2004 May wed Major League Baseball player Matt Treanor, and Walsh married volleyball player Casey Jennings in December 2005. After the Beijing Olympics both women said that they would like to start families and take time off from competing in 2009, but first May-Treanor took on a different challenge as a contestant on the television show Dancing with the Stars. An injury she incurred while rehearsing, however, required surgery on her Achilles tendon. Neither May-Treanor nor Walsh ruled out the possibility of making a run at a third straight gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. “I'm not done. I hope Misty's not done,” Walsh said. “I can't imagine playing beach volleyball without her.”

Paul DiGiacomo

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