Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk, center, celebrates a point against the United States with teammate Barbara Seixas de Freitas during a women’s beach volleyball semifinal match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. With the win, it is the first time that the Americans have not been on the top step of the podium since 2000.
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But the Brazilian duo was surprised by Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst in the semifinal, getting beaten soundly in straight sets, and then later that night the Americans also fell, to Brazil’s younger team of Agatha and Barbara. It was the very first loss in Walsh Jennings’ long Olympic career, and 22 hours later, she was back on the court, still with a medal to fight for. You could see why.
Walsh Jennings, the sport’s most successful player with three gold medals, dominated at the net during the second and third sets as the Americans overpowered Brazil’s Larissa Franca and Talita Antunes 17-21 21-17 15-9.
Instead of pausing, Walsh Jennings sprang into action.
Earlier on, Walsh Jennings and Ross came from a set down to clinch the bronze.
Walsh Jennings and partner April Ross were relegated to the third-place game by Brazil’s reigning world champions, who beat the Americans in straight sets on Tuesday night to advance to a gold medal matchup with Germany.
“Devastated pretty much captures how I felt last night”. By early evening, she said she realized she had one more chance to end her Rio Olympics on a high note. When they go back and watch themselves on videotape, Ross may change that opinion.
“Kerri does so much for us and I didn’t step up today”, Ross said. It was then the Americans were down three, and appeared out of it. Walsh Jennings may keep going – she has hinted of an appearance four years from now in Tokyo – but Wednesday’s match could well be the final one for a signature Olympic athlete of the past 16 years. “We’re a team”, she said, starting a thought but never finishing it before repeating, “We’re a team”. She returned from a 2015 shoulder operation – torn labrum- in January and had to work her way back into form along with Ross, as they worked their way through the Olympic qualifying process.
The wind picked up just before the final, swirling around the temporary 12,000-seat arena and making playing conditions hard.
“I didn’t hear one single boo”, Walsh Jennings said.
The Brazilians were crestfallen not to win the country’s first female beach volleyball gold since 1996, but admitted the Germans had been the better team.
Although she and Ross didn’t get the medal they wanted, their performance spoke to everything that makes the Olympics compelling.
“If I’m going to go, I’m going to play with her”, Walsh Jennings said.
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“This is what I signed up for”, she said. “I have three kids, I have a loving, very supportive husband, and we’re doing this together”.
