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Olympic beach volleyball duo one step away from realizing gold medal dream

05 August 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Alix Klineman and April Ross are guaranteed to earn at least an Olympic silver medal after defeating Germany 2-0 in the Tokyo Games on Thursday morning local time.

Of note: It's the latest chapter in an enduring partnership, driven by past failures and bound by future aspirations.

The big picture: When Klineman switched from indoor to beach volleyball in 2017, Ross had already won two Olympic medals on the sand. In 2018, the players teamed up, and they've been on a success streak ever since.

  • After being left off Olympic rosters for indoor volleyball year after year, Klineman's tenacity matched with her partner's prowess led to the realization of her Olympic dreams.
  • Ross, who has a silver and bronze medal, hopes Klineman will help her realize her own Olympic dream of winning the gold. Now. they're only one step away from realizing that dream.

Results:

  • Prelim - Pool B
  • Klineman and Ross beat China, 2-0, in their first match.
  • Klineman and Ross defeated Spain, 2-0, in their second matchup.
  • Klineman and Ross won their match against the Netherlands, 2-1.
  • Klineman and Ross beat Cuba, 2-0, in the Round of 16 match.
  • Klineman and Ross beat Germany, 2-0,in the Quarterfinals
  • Semifinals - Klineman and Ross beat Switzerland, 2-0, in the semifinals. They are now guaranteed at least a silver.

When to watch:

  • Medal matches
  • Gold - Aug. 5 at 10:30 p.m. ET
  • Klineman and Ross will play either Australia or Latvia

What they're saying:

  • "I am just so thankful I chose [Klineman] as a partner when she was brand new," Ross told Fansided. "She was searching for a partner and now I feel like she's one of the best players in the world."
  • "You know I love competing and I'm very determined and I feel like ultimately my will was stronger than anything else, so that's why I feel like I'm here," Klineman recently said, per E! News.

Olympic medals...

2012 London Games

  • 🥈- Ross took home silver with Jennifer Kessy

2016 Rio Games

  • 🥉- Ross won bronze with Kerri Walsh Jennings

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.