They say there are no guarantees in life. But Team USA winning a medal in beach volleyball at the Olympics was as close to guaranteed as it gets. But not anymore.
The U.S. beach volleyball players have finished their 2024 Paris Olympics journey without winning a single medal for the first time ever. Team USA has won at least one medal in beach volleyball since the sport was included in the Olympics program in 1996.
The duo of Miles Partain and Andy Benesh had the opportunity to keep the streak going but were stopped in the quarterfinals with a 21-14, 21-16 loss to Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan. However, the duo still gave U.S. optimism about the future, considering they were the youngest U.S. men’s beach team to ever compete in the Olympics.
Speaking with ESPN after the loss, Benesh attributed the lack of medals for Team USA to the overall growth of beach volleyball.
“It’s a little bit different than it was 20 years ago. There’s a lot of competition around the world,” Benesh said. “As a fan of beach volleyball, it’s fun to watch, people are playing with different styles in men’s and women’s [competition].”
Previously, Miles Evans and Chase Budinger were ousted in the Round of 16 of the men’s tournament. Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth were stopped in the Round of 16 of women’s tournament, while Sara Elisabeth Hughes and Kelly Marie Cheng made it to the quarterfinals.
