Kerri Walsh Jennings will not get her fourth Olympic gold medal in beach volleyball, as she and partner April Ross were upset by the Brazilian team of Agatha and Barbara, who are ranked second in the world, in Tuesday’s semifinal match. “We’ve handled it in every other situation so it is really disappointing and heartbreaking to not do that tonight”. “We never got our mojo after that, and that’s why”.
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But Walsh Jennings also is in unfamiliar territory: Her first Olympic loss in beach volleyball.
And she said the Brazilians “should” have picked on her because she wasn’t playing well. United States’ April Ross, right, and Kerri Walsh Jennings hug on the bench after losing to Brazil during a women’s beach volleyball semifinal match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. But then added: “I don’t know if I will”.
“It’s because I wasn’t passing the ball”, Walsh Jennings said. “We had some tough times, and now we’re in the final!”
Walsh Jennings has played in 86 FIVB World Tour final fours with 54 gold, 18 silver, nine bronze medals and five 4th place finishes.
USA teammate Aly Raisman won her third medal of the Olympics, finishing with silver after a score of 15.500.
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Brazil still has a chance to match its 2004 Olympic haul of three medals. “I think Talita had some issues and I want to attack her and make her feel very uncomfortable, but I want to focus on my handling and everything else will take care of itself”. I’ve been served aggressively this whole tournament, when people serve at me, and so has April (Ross).
