Olympic beach volleyball's dominant team -- Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh -- to take baby steps
OLYMPICS
The team ranked No. 1 in the world prepares for a second gold medal, but after that May-Treanor and Walsh want to get pregnant as well.
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh have done just about everything a beach volleyball team could do -- they won an Olympic gold medal in 2004 and are ranked No. 1 in the world. May-Treanor has 102 career championships, a record among females, while Walsh has 99.
But ask what they'll be doing a year from now, and the answer has little to do with beach volleyball.
"Hopefully, we'll both be pregnant," Walsh said. "Pregnant, but with two gold medals."
The duo will participate in the Olympics and finish this year's Assn. of Volleyball Players Tour before taking a hiatus from playing to try and start a family with their husbands. For now, May-Treanor, a Long Beach resident, and Walsh, a Hermosa Beach resident, have no plans to retire and intend to return to the AVP after a break, but May-Treanor said the plan could change.
"I don't want to throw the R-word in there, but I mean, I haven't had a kid, I don't know," May-Treanor said. "Priorities change, and it's tough what we do, traveling internationally and domestically and if I feel like I can come back two years down the road or whatever and want to give it a go, great."
But for the next few weeks, family will have to remain on hold as May-Treanor, 31, and Walsh, who turns 31 on Aug. 15, prepare to capture their second gold medal. Headed into Beijing, they've won 18 straight tournaments, one of their many records, in both international and AVP play.
Not all of those victories have been runaways, with one of the closest coming against fellow Olympians Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh at the Dallas Open in April. May-Treanor and Walsh prevailed 17-21, 21-14, 15-13 and adversity in close matches like that has helped them prepare for whatever comes their way on the Olympic stage.
"We've been in every single possible situation against all of these teams and we've beaten all of them," Walsh said. "So, when we're tight, we know we can pull ahead and when we're down we know we can come back."
Walsh added that a little nonverbal communication can go a long way.
"It's never a straightforward game," Walsh said. "The ball's always bouncing somewhere. I think it's just a feeling; you know, we've been playing this for so long that I know where Misty wants the ball and where she's going to be and vice versa."
Their streak of 18 tournament wins also includes a streak of 101 consecutive match wins. Their last loss came in August 2007 to Youngs and Branagh at the AVP's Boston Open, which prompts the question, aren't they due to lose?
