Paris Olympics: Chase Budinger's Olympic beach volleyball dream ends with knockout loss to reigning champs

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PARIS — Chase Budinger and beach volleyball partner Miles Evans were no match for the reigning Olympic champions, and exited the 2024 Games with a straight-set loss in the Round of 16.

Budinger had drawn attention as the first man to play in both the NBA and beach volleyball at the Olympics. He was introduced here on Monday afternoon, under a baking Parisian sun, as "Former NBA player … Chase Budinger!"

But his credentials meant nothing compared to those of his opponents, Anders Mol and Christian Sørum — “The reigning Olympic champions, of Norway,” the public address announcer boomed, “one of the most exciting” beach volleyball teams on the planet.

When the Norwegian duo first formed their golden partnership, Budinger was still a forward for the Phoenix Suns. As he bounced around the NBA, then to Spain, then out of basketball, Mol and Sørum were working toward their first of four consecutive European championships.

They met, initially, at a volleyball-focused school near the west coast of Norway, ToppVolley Norge. Mol came from a volleyball family, the son of coaches, the brother of fellow players. He and Sørum have now been together for the better part of a decade. They have won 21 tournaments on pro tours, plus a world championship in 2022 and the Olympics in 2021.

Budinger, meanwhile, only returned to the beach in 2018. At his first pro tournament in California, he finished tied for 33rd. His road toward the top of a second sport was long, winding and arduous.

He and Evans got together in 2022, and they improved rapidly. A year ago, they were longshots to reach Paris. They hopped from qualifying event to qualifying event over the past year, finished in the top five at seven of them, and overtook a more experienced American pair to nab the second slot on Team USA, fulfilling a dream that first blossomed in Budinger when he was a little boy.

Here at the Eiffel Tower Stadium, though, they were outclassed. After a tournament-opening win, they lost twice in straight sets. They snuck into the Round of 16 through a “lucky loser” play-in match. On Monday against Norway, they hung tough for a half a set, but a couple monstrous Norwegian blocks put them in a 14-11 hole; and Mol and Sørum never looked back, winning 2-0 (21-16, 21-14).