Since making its Olympic debut in Atlanta in 1996, beach volleyball has become the party sport of the Summer Games, complete with the hippest music and attractive dancing girls. It doesn’t hurt that the official uniform is a bathing suit.
Teams from the United States have taken away some nice party favors from the three previous beach volleyball venues – three gold medals, two silver and one bronze. The U.S. teams competing in Beijing are also hoping to wear some of the bling.
There will be 24 teams each in the women’s brackets. The teams are broken into six groups of four for pool play, with 16 teams advancing to the single-elimination round. The beach volleyball festivities will be held Aug. 9-22 at Chaoyang Park in northeastern Beijing. The park’s temporary beach volleyball facility will hold 12,000 people and the tickets were sold out in May.
It looks like Beijing is ready for a party and the U.S. teams are happy to attend.
“I think we’re going to medal, it’s just a matter of what color,” said Ali Wood, USA Volleyball’s Director of Beach Programs.
Leading the belles of the Beijing ball will be the U.S. women’s team of Misty May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.), 31, and Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.), 29, the defending Olympic gold medalists and three-time world champions. Walsh will even celebrate her 30th birthday in Beijing on Aug. 15.
“The world has embraced beach volleyball and I love being a part of that,” Walsh said.
May-Treanor and Walsh put together an amazing record during the qualifying period – Jan. 1, 2007-July 21, 2008, to lead all teams in qualifying points.
Among May-Treanor and Walsh’s 2007 accomplishments were: winning their third straight FIVB World Championship in July in Gstaad, Switzerland without losing a set in eight matches; compiling a match record (international and domestic) of 123-4 and a set record of 252-25; winning seven out of eight international tournaments and finishing third in the other; and winning two international tournaments and eight domestic tournaments without dropping a set.
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