By Gil LeBreton
glebreton@star-telegram.com
LONDON -- As Big Ben itself chimed nearby, Misty May-Treanor reached the end of her illustrious Olympic career Wednesday night.
She survived three Olympics. She and her beach volleyball partner, Kerri Walsh, survived 44 Olympic matches while only losing one set.
She survived
Dancing With the Stars and the ruptured Achilles tendon that came with it.
And somehow she survived the sixth game of the 2011 World Series.
Her husband, as most Texas baseball fans know, is former Rangers catcher Matt Treanor.
"I still don't like to think about that," May-Treanor admitted Wednesday. "A thing was on recently and they mentioned Lance Berkman, and I was like, 'Lance Berkman! Arrrgh!'"
But on to less important stuff, like the third consecutive Olympic gold medal that she and Walsh won convincingly Wednesday night.
It's never easy to see a dynasty come to an end, and make no mistake -- May-Treanor and Walsh have become the gold standard for beach volleyball dynasties.
"This is my last match," May-Treanor, who turned 35 two weeks ago, announced after the gold medal final. "Beach volleyball is not going to be my career anymore.
"It's time for me to be a wife. I want to be a mom and share time with my family."
The gold medal partners made their final match together look easy, disposing of fellow Americans Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 21-16, 21-16 in only 36 minutes.
The night's more compelling drama took place in the interview room, where an emotional Walsh seemed to be teetering on the edge of tears.
"She's the best there ever has been," Walsh said of her partner. "And for me to be able to play with her for so long and to be able to call her my dear friend and sister is the biggest gift ever."
May-Treanor was ready to call it a career after the two won their second gold medal four years ago in Beijing. They talked that rainy day about turning the page and both wanting to become moms.
Walsh and husband (pro beach volleyball player) Casey Jennings didn't waste any time. She had two sons during the two years after the Beijing Olympics.
May-Treanor, in the meantime, appeared on TV's
Dancing With the Stars, where she ruptured an Achilles tendon.
The golden pair met for lunch in their native Southern California last year and decided they wanted to get the band back together.
Returning to competition, however, they soon discovered that the old magic wasn't there.
"We had had a really terrible year up until about a month ago," Walsh said. "We realized the problem was all emotional, all very mental."
They sought the help of a sports psychologist, and he unlocked the possibility that both May-Treanor and Walsh were afraid of disappointing each other.
No way, they said. But they took the diagnosis seriously.
"We were in a place where we'd never been before," Walsh explained. "I truly believe that getting through those challenges, we learned so much and it made us even stronger."
Walsh said that she "grew up" in those two years after winning the gold medal in Beijing.
"We both went through a lot in our lives, emotionally and physically," Walsh said.
If they were going to try for an unprecedented third consecutive gold medal, they vowed to do it right.
"We realized," Walsh said, "that what we have is special, and that we needed to cherish it."
Though they lost one set in a preliminary-round match here, Walsh and May-Treanor's dominance in the Olympic tournament was hard to argue.
But even as they placed their hands over their hearts in the medals award ceremony, they realized that the time had come for May-Treanor to say goodbye.
"My mind says it's time," she said. "My body says it's time.
"And it's the right time. This is my last match. It's time for me to help the next generation."
As the press conference ended, a reporter from Southern California informed May-Treanor that her husband Matt had watched the gold medal match in the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse. Her victory had touched off a celebration.
She smiled and said she couldn't wait to see him.
After three gold medals, Big Ben was chiming. It was time for beach volleyball's greatest dynasty to turn the page.
Gil LeBreton, 817-390-7697Twitter: @gilebreton
Looking for comments?
