April Ross

April Ross has won more than one Olympic medal. She is one of only a handful of women beach volleyball athletes that have done so. Alix-Klineman will compete with Ross at Tokyo in order to claim her third gold medal in the coming days. Ross's aim is to get her first Olympic gold medal. It could be the last opportunity she gets at age 39. Nevertheless, she remains confident of achieving top honours. Ross on NBC Boston, said that If the team is performing very well, or even at all, they could win a gold. That's why I'm taking the chance too. Ross, who was born 1982, and grew up in Costa Mesa California with her siblings and parents, started competing in sports at Newport Harbor High school. Along with playing in numerous sports, Ross also attended Newport Harbor High School. Along with playing indoor volleyball, she also ran track and basketball in her pre-college days. She was clearly the best in the game of indoor volleyball. Through her high school years, she played middle blocker outside setter and hitter at the tennis court per her college bio. She was awarded the Gatorade National Circle of Champions player of the Year in 1999 due to her accomplishments. Her volleyball skills also won her an Orange County Athlete of the Year award in 2000. Ross is currently playing alongside Klineman since the year 2017 but her beach game was well-established long before that. In fact, she's had the chance to win numerous events, one of which was with the legendary player of volleyball. From 2007-2013 she played together with Jennifer Kessy who more recently was Klineman's coach. Together together with Kessy Ross, she won a World Title in 2009 when she competed on the international circuit. This duo went through to take home a silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games at London. The Misty Maytreanor legendary team along with Kerri Jennings won the gold. The fate of the matter was that Ross was Walsh Jennings' new partner as May-Treanor stepped down. In 2016, the pair took bronze at the Rio Olympics for beach volleyball. Ross played for the Trojans of USC during her college days, years before becoming a professional. Her time at the school was one to remember. In 2000, as a freshman she fought her way to Pac-10 as well as NCAA Freshman of the Year accolades. She also was also an All-American. In 2000, her Trojans made it to the Final Four. Her personal tragedy was a crushing loss in her sophomore year, but she still repeated as an All-American. Through her two final years of participation in the Trojans program, she guided the team to win a national championship each year. In 2003-2004, Ross was named as the most successful female volleyball player on the collegiate scene in the US through The Honda Sports Award. Ross was an international relations major at USC. Sadly, Ross mom Margie did not get to see Ross rise to the highest levels of beach volleyball fame. Ross's mom Margie passed away in 2001. Ross was still an USC sophomore. Her breast cancer had been diagnosed. She continues to cherish her parents who passed away. Margie is a beach lover as well as in her everyday life, continues to inspire her.