April Ross

April Ross is only one of only a handful of beach volleyball players who have earned medals at least twice in an Olympics. She is set to compete in Tokyo to compete for her third Olympic medal alongside Alix Klineman who is a first-time Olympian. Ross also hopes to get her very first Olympic gold. The next chance she'll ever have at age 39. She is still confident but she is not sure. Ross said on NBC Boston: "If we do our best and even playing well, I think we could be able to win gold." Therefore, I'm hoping to have some luck too. Ross was a Californian born in Costa Mesa, California in 1982. She grew up in Costa Mesa with her father, mother and sister. She went on to compete in many sports at Newport Harbor High School. Being a pre-athlete, she also played indoor volleyball and track. Though she excelled in indoor volleyball but it was apparent that her performance was above the average. According to her biography, she was a middle blocker and an outside volleyball player throughout her time in high school. Gatorade Circle Of Champions named her the National Player 1999. In 2000, she won her the Orange County Athlete of the of the year for volleyball. Ross has been working with Klineman from 2017. However, Ross's beach game had been established long before the year. She has won major events twice, with various partners. A couple of those has become an icon of the volleyball world. Jennifer Kessy was her partner for six years, from 2007 to 2013. She also worked with Klineman as well as herself. Kessy's teammate Ross, who took home the title of world champion alongside Kessy in 2009 was also a major force on an international level. The duo would go on to win a silver in the 2012 Olympic Games at London. They were knocked out of the gold by the legendary team comprised of Misty May-Treanor as well as Kerri Walsh (Jennings). Ross became Walsh Jennings new partner after May-Treanor's resignation. In 2016, the pair took bronze at the Rio Olympics for beach volleyball. Ross played for the Trojans of USC throughout her college the years prior to her professional career. Her time in the Trojans' ranks was one to remember. In 2000, as a freshman Her performance was rewarded with the Pac-10 as well as NCAA Freshman-of-the-Year honors. Her Trojans made it to the Final Four. She endured a great personal loss in her sophomore, but was still able to achieve the All-American award. Through her two final years of participation in the Trojans program, she guided them to a national title each year. In 2003-2004, Ross was named the best collegiate female volleyball player in the US by The Honda Sports Award. Ross studied the field of international relations in USC. Margie Ross, Ross' mother, never had the chance to watch her daughter become the beach volleyball's biggest star. When Ross was in her sophomore year in USC her mother passed away due to breast cancer. She has kept her parent close to the heart. Margie is an inspiration both on and off of the shore.