Kerri Walsh Jennings has big goals for her post-Olympic life
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Standout American beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings is going after her fourth gold medal in Rio, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t thought about life after volleyball.
The wife and mom of three, who turns 38 on Monday, told Yahoo she has “so many” open doors to pursue. Along with her husband, fellow American beach volleyball player Casey Jennings, Walsh Jennings has her sights set high and hopes to give back to the game of volleyball while impacting the lives of others.
“I want to build up my presence in our sport,” she said. “My husband and I want to have a leadership academy. Volleyball will kind of be the foundation of it, but we want to talk about character and team-building and what it takes to be great in life.”
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Walsh Jennings, who won gold in Athens, Beijing and London with now-retired teammate Misty May-Treanor, also has “amazing partnerships” she hopes to further, including a clothing line with Asics. But before she heads down that road, she wants to win another gold medal with new teammate April Ross. She has been competing alongside Ross, a London silver medalist, since 2013.
Walsh Jennings hasn’t committed to Rio being her final Olympics appearance, but when she does officially retire, she knows one thing for sure.
“It’s going to be great.”
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!