New US beach volleyball stars aim to keep dominance in Paris

PARIS (AP) — Three-time gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings have moved on, and so have April Ross and Alix Klineman, the women who restored the United States to the top of Olympic beach volleyball podium in Tokyo.

In their place is a new contingent trying to bring the prize home from the Paris Games .

Seven of the eight Americans competing on the sand are making their Olympic debuts in 2024, a turnover that they hope will maintain the United States’ historic dominance in a sport that was invented in Hawaii and Southern California.

“Ever since I knew what the Olympics were, I was watching Kerri and Misty, and then it was April and Alix ,” said Kristen Nuss, the former LSU star who is paired with Taryn Kloth on the No. 2 team in the world.

“We want to go make them proud, and make our country proud, and maybe not necessarily focus on the results,” she said. “Just when they’re tuning in, are they proud of our fight? Are they proud of what we’re showcasing to the world what USA beach volleyball is.”

The United States is the most successful program in Olympic beach volleyball history, winning seven of the sport’s 14 gold medals since it was added to the Summer Games in 1996. (Brazil leads in total medals, 13-10.)

Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor won three straight from Beijing to London, and Ross won her third medal when she teamed with Klineman to claim gold in 2021. The new generation may not have a lot of Olympic experience, but their youth gives the Americans a group that could be returning to the Summer Games for a decade or more.

“It’s like the Olympic opening ceremony: We pass the torch along,” May-Treanor, who is in Paris as an analyst for the U.S. television broadcasts, said on Tuesday. “And I can’t think of a better group to pass the torch along to. The talent, the ages, it’s amazing.”

All four women are in their 20s, and all had the benefit of a collegiate beach volleyball program that began in 2012 . Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes were back-to-back NCAA champions at Southern California and the reigning world champions; Nuss and Kloth went 36-0 in their final season at LSU.

The American men are looking for their first medal since Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers won gold in Beijing in 2008. Dalhausser and fellow four-time Olympian Jake Gibb both retired in Tokyo , allowing for a complete refresh.

At 22, Miles Partain is the youngest American ever to play beach volleyball at the Olympics; he’s paired with Andy Benesh, who’s 29. Chase Budinger, who spent seven years in the NBA before giving the beach a try, and partner Miles Evans are both in their mid-30s.

“Jake and Phil have been staples for our program for the last 16 years. Those guys have been great for so long,” Budinger said. “So them on their way out, and the new young guns coming in, it is definitely passing the torch. And we’ve got some big shoes to fill.”

Cheng, who finished tied for ninth in Tokyo with Sarah Sponcil, is the only American with Olympic experience. Though, to be fair, her experience came in a pandemic games with no fans or family in the stands.

“Tokyo was Tokyo. So, I’m just taking this as a completely new experience,” Cheng said. “I shared with Sarah as much as I could. But I talked to so many Olympians before Tokyo, and it was nothing like anybody talked about.”

Budinger and Evans lost to the Netherlands on Tuesday to fall to 1-1 in pool play with one match remaining, against Spain on Friday. Partain and Benesh, who lost their first match, recovered to beat Morocco and improve to 1-1; they play Brazil on Thursday.

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