Olympic Timeline

Although volleyball was played as a demonstration sport at the 1924 Summer Games in Paris it wasn’t officially added to the program until Tokyo 1964.

• The U.S. Women’s National Team finished fifth with a 1-4 record.
• The U.S. Men’s National Team ended in ninth with a 2-7 record.

Both the U.S. men’s and women’s teams qualified for the 1968 Games in Mexico City.

• The Men’s National Team finished seventh (4-5).
• The Women’s National Team took eighth (0-7).

Three Games came and went – Munich 1972, Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980 – without American involvement in Olympic volleyball.

• Neither the Men’s nor Women’s National Teams qualified in 1972 and 1976.
• The Women’s National Team qualified for the 1980 Games but did not compete due to a U.S. boycott.

A triumphant return to Olympic volleyball at Los Angeles 1984.

• The Men’s National Team (5-1) claimed the country’s first-ever gold medal in volleyball, beating Brazil 3-0 in the final.
• The Women’s National Team captured silver after a 4-1 record. Unbeaten until the gold medal match, the squad fell to China in three sets.

Another quad, another gold at Seoul 1988.

• The Men’s National Team successfully defended its gold medal with a 7-0 record. The team beat the Soviet Union in four sets to clinch.
• The Women’s National Team finished seventh (2-3).

A pair of podium finishes for Barcelona 1992, including the first WNT medal.

• The Women’s National Team (4-2) earned bronze after defeating Brazil in straight sets.
• The Men’s National Team (6-2) claimed a third consecutive medal by taking bronze with a 3-1 win over Cuba.

All-American men’s final as beach volleyball debuts in Atlanta 1996.

• American men took gold and silver as Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes downed countrymen Michael Dodd and Mike Whitmarsh in the gold medal match. Carl Henkel and Sinjin Smith tied for fifth.
• Three women’s teams also represented the U.S. in beach. Barbra Fontana and Linda Hanley finished fourth after falling in the bronze medal match to Australia. Holly McPeak and Nancy Reno tied for fifth, and Gail Castro Kehl and Deb Richardson tied for ninth.
• The Women’s National Team finished seventh (5-3).
• The Men’s National Team ended its medal run and finished ninth (2-3).

New millennium, same men’s beach gold at Sydney 2000.

• After narrowly qualifying for the tournament, Dain Blanton and Eric Fonoimoana won the men’s beach tournament, defeating Brazil. The second men’s team of Rob Heidger and Kevin Wong tied for ninth.
• The Women’s National Team improved to fourth with a 5-3 record. The team fell to Brazil in the bronze medal match.
• In women’s beach, Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan, and Misty May and Holly McPeak both tied for fifth.
• The Men’s National Team tied for 11th (0-5)

Two beach legends are introduced at Athens 2004.

• American women took home gold and bronze medals, the first medals by U.S. women in beach volleyball. Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor downed teammates Elaine Youngs and Holly McPeak in the semis. Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor beat Brazil for gold while Youngs and McPeak downed  Australia for bronze.
• The Men’s National Team (4-4) rebuilt after 2000 to finish fourth. The team fell to Russia in the bronze medal match.
• In men’s beach, Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger tied for fifth. 2000 gold medalist Dain Blanton paired with Jeff Nygaard to finished tied for 19th.
• The Women’s National Team was fifth (2-4).

USA Volleyball had a stellar Games at Beijing 2008, winning four medals, three of them gold.

• The Men’s National Team nabbed its third gold medal after an undefeated 8-0 run. As with the first gold 24 years prior, the team downed Brazil in the championship match.
• Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor captured their second Olympic gold in women’s beach, beating China in the championship match. Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs tied for fifth.
• Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser returned the U.S. to the top of the men’s beach volleyball podium after beating Brazil for gold. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal tied for fifth.
• The Women’s National Team earned silver after posting a 6-2 record. The squad fell to Brazil in the final.

Three medals for American women at London 2012.

• Three in a row for Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor after they beat teammates April Ross and Jennifer Kessy for gold in women’s beach. It was the first time American women took gold and silver in Olympic beach volleyball.
• The Women’s National Team (7-1) once again claimed silver, sweeping through pool play and winning two knockout matches before losing to Brazil.
• In men’s beach, Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal tied for fifth for the second Olympics. 2008 champions Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers tied for ninth.
• The Men’s National Team tied for fifth (4-2).

A trio of bronze medals highlight a trip to Brazil for Rio 2016.

• In women’s beach, April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings paired up to claim bronze with a win over Brazil. It was Walsh Jennings’ fourth consecutive Olympic medal. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat tied for 19th.
• The Women’s National Team made it three consecutive medals with bronze. Undefeated through the quarterfinals, the U.S. (7-1) rebounded from a semifinal heartbreaker to down Netherlands for third.
• The Men’s National Team (5-3) also won bronze. The team lost a heartbreaker to Italy in the semis (3-2) but rebounded from an 0-2 deficit in the bronze-medal match to clinch third over Russia.
• In men’s beach, Phil Dalhausser made his third Olympic appearance – this time with Nick Lucena – and tied for fifth. Jake Gibb also made his third appearance and tied for 19th with Casey Patterson.

Worth the wait! Double gold for American women at Tokyo 2020 (delayed one year due to COVID-19).

• The Women’s National Team made history with its first-ever Olympic gold. The team (7-1) dropped one match in the tournament and defeated Brazil in the final.
• In women’s beach, April Ross paired with Alix Klineman to win the gold medal. It was Ross’ third consecutive Olympic medal. Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil tied for ninth.
• In men’s beach, both Jake Gibb and Phil Dalhausser competed in their fourth consecutive Games. Gibb paired with Tri Bourne and finished tied for ninth. Dalhausser and Nick Lucena also finished tied for ninth.
• The Men’s National Team finished 10th (2-3).