Misty May-Treanor

Misty May-Treanor is synonymous with beach volleyball in the United States. As an icon in the sport, her success and influence helped elevate beach Volleyball to one of the most popular sports on the Olympic program. May-Treanor began her Olympic career at the 2000 Sydney Games, where she and then-partner Holly McPeak tied for fifth place. It was at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, when May-Treanor and partner Kerri Walsh Jennings began their dominant streak by winning the first of three consecutive Olympic gold medals. After winning performances at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games, the duo cemented themselves as the greatest beach Volleyball team of all time. May-Treanor was named the Most Outstanding Player of both the Olympic Games Athens 2004 and Olympic Games Beijing 2008. She and Kerri Walsh Jennings are the only players in the world – male or female – to win three Olympic gold medals in beach Volleyball. The pair won 21 consecutive Olympic matches and lost only one set, while also adding three straight FIVB World Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2009. During that time, the duo also won a record 112 consecutive beach matches and 19 straight tournaments. May-Treanor finished her career with then-records of 112 tournament wins, including 43 international titles, and over $2.1 million in earnings. Before she began her reign on the sand, May-Treanor led an undefeated Long Beach State team to the 1998 NCAA Division I national championship. She was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2016.