But Walsh Jennings also is in unfamiliar territory: Her first Olympic loss in beach volleyball.
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Walsh Jennings hugged and kissed her husband, Casey Jennings, after successfully making it onto the podium for the fourth Olympics in a row, this time without her retired former partner Misty May-Treanor.
Walsh Jennings and her partner, April Ross, were defeated by Brazil’s own top-ranked team of Agatha and Barbara, who follow in their nation’s athletic tradition of using only their first names.
Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross took home the bronze in beach volleyball. (Aside from her fellow Brazilian Larissa, no one has had a more devastating serve at this Olympics.) She’s also one of the few top volleyball players who is left-handed, which she loves to use to her advantage, especially at the net, when she can appear to set up for a right-handed spike, then slip the ball over the net with her left.
“The hardest match to play in sports”, said Walsh Jennings. Coming to Rio, Walsh Jennings, 38, and Ross, 34, had lost to Larissa and Talita four times in five FIVB World Tour matches this year – most recently just five weeks ago at the Gstaad Open in Switzerland.
It wasn’t until she and Ross arrived at the venue Wednesday and got a pep talk from coach Marcio Sicoli that they were able to refocus on the competition.
“Gnarly, so gnarly”, said Ross.
“I thought, ‘Stop feeling sorry for yourself, it is an honor to have another day to fight for what you want, so go fight for it, ‘ ” said Walsh Jennings. But after 26 straight victories and three gold medals, her mission to win a fourth Olympic title slipped away on the sands of Copacabana Beach. I’ve seen enough of Kerri Walsh’s side boob.
Germany’s Laura Ludwig celebrates a point against Brazil during a women’s beach volleyball semifinal match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016.
Walsh Jennings and Ross have a chance to leave Rio with a good taste.
Agatha and Barbara came out firing in the second.
It would be easy enough to say Kerri Walsh Jennings finally had age catch up to her. “We’re going to have to show up and play better than we did”.
The U.S. relied heavily on its power and strength, while Brazil embraced its tactical and creative approach in order to dethrone Jennings and Ross. “That was what kind of set the tone, and we couldn’t get our mojo on anything else”. I had a huge vision of an army behind us on the court. I’ve been served aggressively this whole tournament, when people serve at me, and so has April. Their deliveries kept Walsh Jennings and Ross slightly off balance all night.
“I actually didn’t notice them until I heard them cheering in the middle of rallies”, she said.
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Walsh Jennings struggled with her passing throughout the medal round, including on Tuesday night when the pair lost to Brazil’s second-seeded team.
