The duo won Olympic gold medals in 2004, 2008 and 2012. In that span, they prevailed in 21 straight matches. At one time, the three-time Olympic gold medalists won 112 matches and 19 tournaments in a row across all competitions.
Beach volleyball was a demonstration sport in the 1992 Olympics. Four years later, it was promoted to a full medal sport. Over time, fans began to appreciate the reckless athleticism it brings out, May-Treanor and Walsh’s dominance brought even more attention to it.
“The reality is it’s really an athletic, beautiful sport. The uniform should attract people. What brings them back is the physicality and the beauty of the sport,” Walsh told ESPN.
When it all began
May-Treanor first competed at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. She finished fifth with partner Holly McPeak. Then, she looked for better results and sought out a new partner. She eventually found Walsh, someone she had competed against in high school. Both May-Treanor and Walsh grew up playing volleyball in California, and the two were familiar with each other’s journey over the years.
California sports betting experts would have made a lot of money backing the duo through their three appearances at the Olympics. May-Treanor and Walsh were practically unbeatable, and they didn’t slow down until May-Treanor’s retirement.
When did they last compete?
As mentioned before, Walsh and May-Treanor competed in three Olympics together (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012). The last time they competed in the Olympic Games together was in 2012, when they won their third consecutive gold medal.
In 2016, Walsh played with April Ross and qualified for the Rio Games. Walsh and Ross won a bronze medal there.
Heading into the 2012 Olympics, they were in the unusual position of not being favored to win the gold. They were in the third seed behind Larissa Franca and Juliana Silva of Brazil, and Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China.
Kerri Walsh remained confident and excited about the event though.
“Misty said we have nothing left to prove because we have done so many great things, but I want to prove to the world that were the best in 2012,” Walsh said in 2012. “I feel like if we win a third gold medal, when we win a third gold medal in London, it will put us in that realm. We’ll be the best there ever was in beach…