Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross lost to second-seeded Brazilians Agatha and Barbara Seixas de Freitas in the women’s beach volleyball semifinals.
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Partnered with April Ross, she’s vying for a gold medal the Rio Olympics, where the United States team have reached the quarterfinals.
Brazilian duo Barbara Seixas and Agatha Bednarczuk dished out a first ever Olympic loss to American great Kerri Walsh Jennings amid a fevered atmosphere on Copacabana beach to reach the final of the women’s beach volleyball. “We can squash that team and we have in the past”, says Walsh-Jennings.
“I envisioned them coming at me and envisioned them nailing every pass”.
The Americans, the world’s No. 3 in the latest FIVB rankings, will play Brazil’s Larissa and Tulita – the players, like the country’s soccer icons, use only one name – later Wednesday in the bronze-medal match.
The Australian women failed to advance after preliminary play while Walsh Jennings, alongside former partner Misty May-Treanor, went on to win their third consecutive Olympic gold.
Walsh Jennings said she made eye contact with the “Ghostbusters” star on her way out to the court, and appreciated the energy she brought to the crowd.
“That’s one of the biggest things I love about the Olympics”.
A lot of their problems stemmed from Walsh Jennings’ difficulty passing, as Brazil keyed in on her to record five aces. “I don’t want anyone to not play because they don’t want to wear the uniform”.
Larissa and Talita are each three-time Olympians, but they’re teamed up at the Rio Games for the first time.
“It’s a huge deal”, said Ross, who won the silver medal in London.
You won’t hear them complain: The gold medal match is also scheduled for 12 a.m. local time.
April and Kerri crushed Australia, Switzerland, China and Italy in the preliminaries, before taking on Brazil in the semifinals.
The men’s final is Thursday. Now Agatha and Barbara will have a shot at gold against Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst, who upset top-seeded Brazilians Larissa França and Talita Antunes in their semifinal match on August 16.
“I think some Brazilians would have different opinions on that, but we don’t really mind what other people think”, Walsh Jennings said. She has won three world championships in the event and will be a favorite to win her fourth gold here in Rio.
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Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich pauses after a missed chance against Brazil during a women’s beach volleyball quarterfinal match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. On top of it she had to play against the top ranked Brazilian team in front of a partisan crowd.
