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Need to know: Kerri Walsh Jennings

Rio will be Kerri Walsh Jennings' fifth Olympic Games, and she is aiming for her fourth-straight gold medal.

The American has three-straight beach volleyball gold medals

CBC Sports ·
After dominating for years with Misty May-Treanor, American Kerri Walsh Jennings is now playing with April Ross, and they are the third-seed for the Rio Olympics. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

By Callum Ng, CBC Sports

The name Kerri Walsh Jennings is recognizable, even to non-volleyball fans, because of her utter dominance on the sand for the better part of two decades.  

The American partnered with Misty May-Treanor to win Olympic gold at three straight Olympic Games: Athens, Beijing, and London.

She also went to Sydney 2000 for indoor volleyball.

Famous moment 

During that gold medal run, Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor won 21 consecutive Olympic matches, losing only one set (to Austria in 2012).

Walsh Jennings' current partner is April Ross, who actually lost to her and May-Treanor in the London Olympic final. 

She said it...

  • "I'm so proud to be an Olympic gold medallist as a mommy. I really want to win in Rio for so many reasons but near the top if not at the top of the list is that I want to show my kids, you know, what it's like for their parent to chase a dream."

What they're saying about her...

  • "The greatest thing about playing with her is that she's so intense and so committed to getting better." - April Ross, Kerri's partner 
  • "I've been told I'm too intense, but to be out there with Kerry and see how intense she is, has allowed me to be myself and embrace that intensity and that drive." - Ross

Strengths

At six-foot-three, Walsh Jennings is tall. A typical detriment for big volleyball players is that they simply aren't as nimble, and can't quickly traverse the sand to save a play.

Not so for Walsh Jennings, her coach says she has quick feet.

Weaknesses

Walsh has had five surgeries, the latest on her right shoulder in 2015. Her first tournament back was a win at the Rio Grand Slam in March of 2016. She and Ross will need to peak at the right time in Rio.  

Fun fact

Walsh Jennings has three children. Two sons, Joseph (2009) and Sundance (2010) and daughter Scout (2013).

She was actually pregnant with Scout during the 2012 Olympic Games, and competed while pregnant with Joseph after Beijing 2008.

Hometown

Saratoga, Calif.

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