April Ross

April Ross was one of only a few women beach volleyball players who have won medals during several Olympics. Alix-Klineman will compete with April Ross in Tokyo in order to claim her third gold medal over the coming days. But more than that, Ross hopes to win the first Olympic gold. It may well be that she has one chance, at 39 years old. The athlete is optimistic she can achieve top honors. Ross said on NBC Boston: "If we perform our best and if we just play well, I think we could be able to win gold." Also, I am going be relying on a little bit of good luck. Ross was born in 1982 and lived in Costa Mesa California with her siblings and parents, started participating in sports at the Newport Harbor High School. In Newport Harbor High School, she competed in numerous activities. When she was a student in the prep school she was a participant in indoor volleyball along with basketball and track. She was definitely an edge over the other players in this latter game. Based on her biography, she was a middle blocker and an outside hitting volleyball player throughout her time in high school. Gatorade Circle of Champions named her as the National Player of 1999. The skills she showed in volleyball also brought her the Orange County Athlete of the Year award in the year 2000. Ross and Klineman formed the partnership in 2017, but Ross has been a beach star for years before. The American has been a major winner in competitions with different players. A couple of those is an icon in the world of volleyball. In the period 2007 until 2013, she was a team with Jennifer Kessy who more recently played the role of Klineman's coach. Kessy as well as Ross proved to be a formidable force in the international circuit, winning the 2009 World Championship together. The duo eventually captured an Olympic silver medal during the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Misty May, Kerri Walsh and Kerri Jennings were the trio to beat out for gold. Ross Jennings was Walsh Jennings partner in fate as Maytreanor resigned. They both won bronze in beach volleyball at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Ross began her college professional career playing for the Trojans of USC following high school. It was a long time before Ross went to the beach and became a professional. Her time at the school was a memorable one. As a freshmen in 2000, her play earned her the Pac-10 as well as NCAA Freshman-of-the-Year honors. She also helped her Trojans to make it to the Final Four. She was devastated by a personal tragedy during her sophomore years, yet she managed to become an All-American again. Through her last two years within the team, she guided the Trojans towards the summit by winning two consecutive national championships. Individually she had cemented herself as an all-time great winning the 2003-2004 Honda Sports Award as the most outstanding female college volleyball player. Ross who was a USC international relations major, was a star in volleyball. Margie Ross did not see her daughter make it to the top of beach volleyball. Ross's mom died from breast carcinoma in 2001. Ross had just become an undergraduate student in the second year at USC. This meant that Ross continues to be close to her deceased parent. Margie is a source of inspiration in her life and on the beach.