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It just doesn’t feel like the Summer Olympics without Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings around. For three straight Games, between 2004 and 2012, the American duo ruled the beach.
That iconic pair rose to stardom en route to three gold medal performances in women’s beach volleyball. But while Walsh Jennings stuck around for one more run — winning bronze with at the 2016 Games with April Ross, a 2021 Olympic gold medalist — the two haven’t been paired together at the Olympics since.
Until 2024.
May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings will return to the sand against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower.
May-Treanor will be an analyst, calling games for NBC alongside Chris Marlowe. Walsh Jennings’ role is a little less certain. A comeback at age 45 alongside former Stanford teammate Logan Tom was derailed by an ankle injury. Regardless, she told NBC’s Bay Area affiliate she’ll make her way to France this summer.
“I will be part of Paris. I will go and participate in the Olympic movement,” said Jennings Walsh. “Right now, I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to show up.”
While we won’t see the most dominant beach volleyball pairing of all-time on the sand this summer, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings will still be a part of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
