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 The 36-year-old mother of three won gold at Athens 2004, Beijing
2008 and London 2012 Olympics alongside Misty Mae-Treanor in a
partnership hailed as "the best beach volleyball team of all time."
She is now bidding to join the exclusive club of athletes who have
won four consecutive Olympic golds in the same individual event,
this time with April Ross who she beat for gold in 2012.
That exclusive club of four straight Olympic golds so far includes
just two athletes -- Americans Al Oerter and Carl Lewis -- who
achieved this feat in discus and long jump respectively at four
consecutive Games.
"I don't like to speculate, because anything can happen, but I will
say that April (Ross) and I are going to the Olympics to win and we
are doing everything we can to set ourselves up for success," Walsh
Jennings told Reuters in an interview.
"The level of play for beach volleyball for men and women is
insanely high. There are no easy matches. In order to win this gold
medal, April and I need to be extraordinary and that's what we plan
to do."
Extraordinary is an apt word used to describe the athlete, who was
pregnant during her Olympic gold run at the London 2012 Games.
For Rio she has teamed up with Ross and Walsh Jennings said the
change was a "challenge" and they were both working on it every day.
"It can sometimes be a challenge transitioning partners, but April
is such a hardworking athlete and overall wonderful person," said
Walsh Jennings, who is also a spokesperson for Almond Breeze.
"We definitely have the same mentality and are super focused. No
matter how good we each are individually, it takes time to build our
morale and rhythm, so that's what we're working on every single
day."
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Walsh Jennings could have hoped for a better preparation going into
her final year before Rio, with a shoulder injury disrupting her
training ahead of this month's world championships in the
Netherlands.
But the injury, which has forced her to play with shoulder strapping
in her first matches in Holland, will not deter her from her goals
in Rio, she said.
"It was definitely a rough patch but I'm feeling strong. Fortunately
it was just a minor setback and didn't keep me off the sand for too
long.
"I'm back to my training routine and just really taking care of
myself so that it doesn't affect my progress toward the world
championships and beyond."
Following the world championships this year, it will be the Olympics
in 2016 and the biggest stage for the sport, at the iconic
Copacabana beach venue in Rio.
"Honestly, there isn't a more perfect place to compete in beach
volleyball," she said. "Copacabana is where I want to be playing and
fighting for a gold medal.
"The love and intensity of the sport is on a completely different
level in Brazil, so having the opportunity to play beach volleyball
there is an honor."
(Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
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