April Ross

April Ross is only one of only a handful of beach volleyball athletes to win medals more than once at an Olympics. She is set to compete in Tokyo to compete for her third Olympic medal alongside Alix Klineman, a first time Olympian. Ross's goal is to win her first Olympic Gold. And at the age of 39 this may be her last opportunity to accomplish this. But she's still confident of achieving top honours. Ross stated to NBC Boston that if they perform at their very best, and even play well, she believes the team will be able to win the gold medal. It's also going to be the result of luck. Ross was a Californian born in Costa Mesa, California in 1982. She lived here with her father, mother and younger sister. Her athletic career continued at Newport Harbor High School where she played in a variety of different sports. As a prep-athlete she was also a participant in indoor track and volleyball. She was clearly the best at the sport of indoor volleyball. The college bio says that she played outside of the hitter middle blocker, and setter during her volleyball career during high school. Gatorade Circle Of Champions named her the National Player of 1999. The skills she showed in volleyball also won her the Orange County Athlete of the Awards in 2000. Ross and Klineman are doing what they do from 2017. The reality is that Ross played a significant role in the beach volleyball scene before the pairing. The fact is, she's had numerous big wins as well as one of her partners was a volleyball superstar. In the period 2007 to 2013 she teamed with Jennifer Kessy who more recently served as her and Klineman's coach. Together with Kessy Ross, she won the World Championship in 2009 when she competed in the international circuit. The pair eventually picked up an Olympic silver medal during the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Misty May Treanor and Kerri Jennings the legendary team who took home the Olympic gold medal in 2012 in London, took their opponents to claim the gold medal. The fate of the matter was that Ross turned out to be Walsh Jennings' new partner as May-Treanor stepped down. Both went on to win the bronze beach volleyball medal at the Rio Olympics 2016 with Walsh Jennings. Ross was a college player at USC Trojans prior to beginning starting her professional career. She played during high school, as well as before hitting the beaches as a professional. Ross's playing time with the Trojans was remarkable. As a freshmen in 2000 Her performance was rewarded with the Pac-10 and NCAA Young Player of the Year awards. The Trojans could also make it to the Final Four with her help. The second season of her career she was devastated by a personal loss, yet was able to be named an All-American. Over the course of her final two seasons, she took the Trojans up to the summit and won consecutive national titles. In 2003-2004, Ross was named the best female volleyball player on the collegiate scene in the United States by the Honda Sports Award. Ross studied at USC in International Relations. Sadly, Ross mother Margie was not able to witness Ross's daughter reach the very top of beach volleyball stardom. When Ross was in her sophomore year at USC her mother died of breast cancer. She is devoted to her mother who died. Margie is a source of inspiration throughout her life, as well as on the beach.