ATHENS – First came the tan, then came the gold. They both looked good on Kerri Walsh.
The 6-foot-3 Walsh, who made the switch from indoor volleyball to its brasher, louder outdoor cousin, teamed up with Misty May to win the first U.S. gold medal in women’s beach volleyball.
The hardest part about making the switch?
“I was too pale,” Walsh said. “It took me three months to get tan enough.”
The sunscreen was worth it. Walsh and May dominated Brazil’s Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede just as they have blown past the rest of the competition, claiming the gold medal with a 2-0 victory. The Californians won the first set 21-17 and then cruised through the second by a score of 21-11.
The victory set off a long, wild celebration in tune with the party atmosphere that reigns at Peace and Friendship Stadium. Walsh and May stood on narrow ledges 5 feet above the sand, embracing friends and family.
“I’m giving this medal to my parents,” Walsh said. “I don’t know if they’ll take it, but this is for them.”
In a bittersweet twist, Americans Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs won a bronze medal by beating a duo from Australia. In Sydney, McPeak and May were partners who finished fifth. May was troubled by an abdominal injury throughout that tournament.
“I’ve had two challenging Olympic Games,” said McPeak, who also competed in the 1996 Games. “Both were with semi-injured partners. I’m very happy to have this medal, and I’m very proud the Americans were able to bring home two medals.”
The team broke up after Sydney, and May recruited Walsh to leave the arena and play on the beach.
“Beach volleyball players have more fun,” Walsh said. “That first year together, we were No. 4 in the world. But we had a less-than-stellar year. We lost some matches we should have won, basically because of my inexperience.”
Besides that all-important base tan, beach volleyball requires coordination with just one other player, the ability to move quickly and jump high in deep sand, and an uncanny knack for tuning out distractions.
“It’s a party,” Walsh said. “There’s top 40 music, a DJ. People are dancing.”
If the indoor game is a chamber concert, conducted by a stern head coach, the beach game is a garage-band jam.
“Indoor volleyball has a very stale atmosphere,” said Youngs, who spent three years on the U.S. indoor national team. “It’s fun to play beach volleyball. I didn’t have any fun in three years on the indoor team. We have so much more control over what we do. We hire our own coach, we decide when and how to train.”
Although the Olympic version got as much attention for the loud music and dozen bikini-clad women who danced during time outs, the game itself is as much fun to watch as it is to play.
May and Walsh are already being called the best team in the sport, and that’s because they complement each other personally.
May is the defensive specialist, digging out seemingly hopeless shots and setting the ball perfectly for Walsh to spike it or place it. Walsh is just fearsome, using her height and long arms to intimidate opponents at the net and to reach balls that shorter players couldn’t.
The Brazilians tried to cope with the problems presented by Walsh. They used soft crossing shots to avoid her blocks. When May slid up to counter that strategy, the Brazilians tried to blast the ball right at Walsh, hoping for a favorable carom.
Like a great basketball center, she affected almost every shot the Brazilians made.
“People kept telling us that we had this in the bag,” Walsh said. “But we had to beat all of the top teams in the world to win this medal.”
They enjoyed it. May, the calming presence, looked equal parts relieved and happy. Walsh stood on the podium, checking occasionally to see if the medal was still there. Or real.
“This is not for real,” Walsh said. “I am so happy. My whole goal was to hear our national anthem played in that stadium, and we did it. And it was beautiful. It was truly beautiful.”c 2004, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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