April Ross

April Ross is only one of the few beach volleyball players to have won medals at least twice in an Olympics. Alix-Klineman will compete with April Ross in Tokyo to win her third gold medal over the next few days. Ross also hopes to get her very first Olympic gold. The next time she has the chance as she is 39 years old. But she's still certain of taking top honors. Ross declared on NBC Boston: "If we try our best, and even playing well I believe we can get the gold medal." So I'm going to take a little bit of luck also. Ross was born in California in Costa Mesa in 1982. She grew up in Costa Mesa with her mother, father and sibling. Her athletic career was continued by Newport Harbor High School where she participated in several different sports. The prep sports she played included indoor volleyball, as well as basketball, running and track. But she stood out during this game. In her time at high school, she played middle blocker, outside setter and hitter at the tennis court per her college bio. For her efforts she was awarded in 1999 as the Gatorade International Player of the year in Circle of Champions. Also, she won the 2000 Orange County Athlete of the year award for volleyball. Ross and Klineman are performing their roles since the year 2017. However, Ross was a major player in the beach volleyball scene prior to the pair. The fact is, she's been a winner of numerous major tournaments and one partner was a renowned volleyball player. She teamed up together with Jennifer Kessy from 2007-2013, and she also served as Klineman's personal trainer. Kessy's teammate Ross, who was the winner of the world championship together with Kessy in 2009, was also significant on the world stage. They were awarded a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic Games held in London. The Misty Maytreanor legendary team and Kerri Jennings won the gold. Ross Jennings replaced May-Treanor when she announced her retirement. They went on to compete for the bronze medal in beach volleyball at Rio Olympics 2016. They were joined by Walsh Jennings. Ross competed for USC Trojans during her college days, the years prior to her professional career. Her experience at USC was awe-inspiring. As a freshmen in 2000 Her performance was rewarded with the Pac-10 and NCAA Freshman-of-the-Year honors. Her performance also assisted in helping the Trojans reach their first Final Four. The second season of her career she was devastated by a personal loss and still was able to be named an All-American. The two years following her, she took the Trojans to the top of the mountain and won consecutive national titles. She was a fantastic player on the court, and was awarded the Honda Sports Award in 2003-04 as the top female college volleyball player. Ross was a student of international relations at USC. Margie Ross was never able to witness her daughter's rise to the beach volleyball spotlight. As of 2001, when Ross was a sophomore studying at USC her mother died of breast cancer. Ross is still awed by her parents who passed away. Margie has always been a source of inspiration for her in and out of the water.