Tokyo beach volleyball gold medalist Alix Klineman will follow partner April Ross into retirement

Tokyo Olympic formation volleyball golden medalist Alix Klineman announced connected societal media she is retiring from nan sport

Tokyo Olympic formation volleyball golden medalist Alix Klineman announced connected societal media connected Monday she is retiring from nan sport, astir 3 weeks aft her “A-Team” partner April Ross said she is moving on.

They will play their last arena together astatine nan AVP League championship successful Carson, California.

Ross, 42, led Southern California to back-to-back NCAA championships successful indoor volleyball earlier switching to nan beach. She won a metallic badge astatine nan London Games, bronze successful Rio and golden pinch Klineman successful Tokyo. She had a boy past twelvemonth and was joined successful September.

“It is pinch a very fulfilled and grateful heart, and besides immoderate tears, that I americium announcing my retirement,” Ross posted connected Instagram past month. “I’m gladsome I tin opportunity I lived it to nan fullest and that it was an absolute BLAST. At nan aforesaid time, I’m successful disbelief it’s (almost) over, it feels for illustration it went by successful a heartbeat.”

A four-time All-American astatine Stanford successful indoor volleyball, nan 34-year-old Klineman switched to nan formation successful 2017 and joined Ross to win nan golden badge successful Tokyo, her only Olympic experience.

In her status video, she recited an unfastened missive to nan athletics of volleyball, saying her attraction had changed since having a son, Theo, past year.

“It’s nary longer conscionable astir you, volleyball. It’s not astir me, either. It’s astir my family. It’s astir my priorities. And they’re different now,” she said. “I thought I could do some — beryllium a mom and play. ... But I can’t do some nan measurement that I want to do both. To do that, I person to sacrifice nan measurement that I show up for Theo, and I don’t want that.”

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