About a week and a half before that final match under the lights, I had the privilege of sitting down with you in Rio. It was the day before the Opening Ceremony, and you were beaming—even as you told me about the challenges you’ve faced since London: a new partner, shoulder surgery, ups and downs on the court. “It’s been a journey,” you said. “And it has to be—it has to be hard. I think we need to reframe the term ‘hard work’ because there’s joy and there’s privilege to be able to work hard toward something you love.”
Do you remember that conversation? During it, you made the (now painfully-yet-unintentionally ominous) comment: “I think sometimes progress looks like a step backward. Sometimes it looks like a punch in the face and you have to survive it.”
You told me about your favorite quote: “It’s not the weight you carry, it’s the way you carry it.”
You went on to say: “You have to know what hard is to know what great is. You need contrast in your life to show you what you want. I’ve lived a lot of contrast in the past four years. This Olympics will have a lot of contrast. But it’s going to highlight the beautiful moments.”
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Those words echoed as I anxiously cheered you and April Ross on, point by point, set by set. You had taken a hit, a step back. But you were fighting. And you not only survived—you won.
“It was harder than I thought to get up for this match,” you told reporters afterwards. “I talked to myself all night long, and at some point I was like, ‘You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. This is an honor to have another day to fight for what you want.’ Our goal was to win our last match. Obviously, it was to win gold, but it was an honor and a huge, huge opportunity as an athlete to come and fight for this. It was a highlight of my athletic career without a doubt.”
If this was your last Olympics, then let me take a moment to say thank you—for all of the beautiful moments you gave me and so many others in Rio. I got to listen to the crowd go nuts after each and every one of your “monster blocks,” and watch the genuine and enviable chemistry between you and April. I got to sit in a packed stadium and sing you “Happy Birthday” after you beat Australia, and witness the way you went around to high-five every single volunteer on the court after that win—and then the way you did the same exact thing after your heartbreaking loss to Brazil.
A photo posted by Kerri Walsh Jennings (@kerrileewalsh) on Aug 10, 2016 at 8:06pm PDT
I especially want to thank you for the way your words always seem to uplift and inspire—like these, after your triumphant final match: “It’s just amazing…What we are capable of doing—what the human spirit, the American spirit, is capable of doing—when you’re backed in a corner and what’s possible when you stick together.”
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I know you’ve told a few people you’re not sure what the future holds, that you don’t know if there’s another Olympics in the cards, but remember what you said to me—before the hard-fought ups and downs on that beach in Copacabana? “At this point, I’m all in,” you said about Tokyo 2020. “This is so fun. I mean, I love Christmas, almost more than anything, and the Olympics are like my Christmas every single day. The Olympic spirit is a real thing, and I feel like I was born with the Olympic spirit inside of me. So it’s going to be hard to get me out of here.”
That’s exactly what I’m hoping for, Kerri. And I know countless other fans are, too. Because this is about more than beach volleyball and the dominant legacy you’ll leave on the sport. It’s about more than redemption or chasing one last gold. It’s about more than the fact that you’ll be 42, and you’d be showing people everywhere that age or gender can’t limit what a person can accomplish. It’s that quite honestly, you’re the best example of what these two weeks are meant to be about: hope, respect, resilience, and a deep and unwavering love for the game. You don’t just embody the Olympic spirit, you’re made from it—and that’s something this world can’t seem to find enough of. And we’re not quite ready to say goodbye.