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Ex-49er
volleyball standout, Misty May, wins the
gold medal in the beach volleyball event
at the Olympics in Athens. May led the 49ers
to the first perfect season in NCAA history
in 1998. File photo
Gold
struck by 49er alum in Athens
By
Michael Bower
Online Forty-Niner
Staff
The
former 49er, Misty May, finally struck gold
at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
May
and partner Kerri Walsh won the gold medal
Tuesday in beach volleyball becoming the
first U.S. women's team to win a medal in
the sport. The two cruised through the competition
in Athens, not losing a set in seven matches.
"It
still feels like a dream." May told
the Los Angeles Times afterward.
It was a long journey to the gold medal
for May, whose career boomed in beach volleyball
after leaving Long Beach State in 1998.
May
came up empty in her first attempt at gold
in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She left Sydney
that year disappointed a medal was not swinging
from her neck.
"It
was difficult because we believed we could
do it," May said after the 2000 Olympics.
"After all the hard work we went through
just to qualify, it was disappointing not
to come home with a medal."
May
recently was battling a recurring abdomen
injury, which forced her and Walsh to forfeit
in the finals of the Hermosa Beach tournament
at the end of July.
The
injury had many people questioning whether
May would be able to stay healthy throughout
the 2004 Olympics.
"A
lot of people had doubts," May told
the Los Angeles. Times. "I tried to
tell them I had no doubts."
No
one is doubting anymore as May will be leaving
the Olympics this time with a shiny gold
medal around her neck.
The
ex-49er certainly has made her mark on women's
volleyball at Long Beach State. In 2002
the school honored May with a bobblehead
doll and in 2004 she was inducted into the
Long Beach State Athletic Hall of Fame.
May
led the 49ers to the first perfect season
(36-0) in NCAA history and a NCAA Championship
in 1998. She garnered every individual award
possible for the season including the 1998-99
Honda-Broderick Cup, which is presented
annually to the nation's outstanding collegiate
woman athlete. She was just the second volleyball
player and first 49er to win the award.
May
also was a two-time American Volleyball
Coaches Association National Player of the
Year selection, a two-time Volleyball Magazine
National Player of the Year pick and a three-time
Big West Conference Player of the Year selection.
May
was named one of the greatest collegiate
volleyball players ever in January of 2001.
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