With two former players competing in 2016’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the Stanford program now boasts nine Olympians who have made a total of 19 appearances in the Summer Games. At least one former Cardinal player has appeared on each indoor U.S. Olympic roster since 1988, when Kim Oden ’86 became Stanford’s first volleyball Olympian.
In 1992, Oden returned to the Team USA roster and helped the squad to a bronze medal in Barcelona. Her sister, Bev Oden ’93, joined Kristin Klein ’92 on the 1996 team in Atlanta, while former Cardinal players Nancy Reno ’88 and Barbra Fontana ’87 both made appearances on the beach that year. Fontana and partner Linda Hanley took fourth, while Reno and partner Holly McPeak placed fifth. At the 2000 Sydney Games, Kerri Walsh ’00 and Logan Tom ’03 both made their inaugural Olympic appearances as members of the indoor team and helped the squad to a fourth-place finish. Then just 19 and preparing for her sophomore year at Stanford, Tom became the youngest player to ever make a U.S. Olympic roster.
Walsh made the move to the beach for the 2004 Games in Athens and claimed the first U.S. gold medal in the history of the sport with partner Misty May-Treanor. Also in 2004, Tom returned to the indoor roster and another young player from The Farm, Ogonna Nnamani ’05, followed in Tom’s footsteps and became just the second collegian to make a U.S. Olympic women’s volleyball team.
At the 2008 Games in Beijing, Tom and Nnamani both made repeat appearances on the indoor squad, while Walsh returned to the beach. Indoors, Tom and Nnamani led Team USA to a 6-2 record, helping the team pull off a pair stunning upsets of No. 2 Italy and No. 3 Cuba to advance to its first gold medal match in 24 years. The squad fell to Brazil to take the silver, capturing just its third all-time medal in women’s indoor volleyball. Walsh and May-Treanor made a dominant run through the women’s beach tournament to become the first beach team, men or women, to defend a gold medal. The pair never lost a set in seven matches and defeated the top-seeded Chinese team in front of its home crowd to claim the gold.
In London in 2012, Tom made her fourth appearance on the indoor team and was joined by first-time Olympian Foluke Akinradewo ’09. Walsh and May-Treanor were in pursuit of their third straight gold medal. The indoor team finished 7-1, falling in the finals to Brazil for the second consecutive Olympic Games. Still searching for the elusive gold medal, the U.S. indoor team has won three silver medals and one bronze.
Walsh and May-Treanor made history in London, becoming the first beach volleyball team of either gender to take home three gold medals after they defeated their American counterparts in the finals. Seeded third, the pair finished the tournament with a 7-0 record. Arguably the greatest beach team in the history of the sport, Walsh and May-Treanor were 21-0 in Olympic matches going back to Athens and 42-1 in Olympic sets.
In Rio in 2016, Akinradewo will again represent the Cardinal on the indoor team, searching for the United States' first gold medal in the sport. Walsh, who is making her fifth straight Olympics appearance, will team up with new partner April Ross. Walsh will be competing for her fourth consecutive gold medal in beach volleyball.
Indoor Olympians
Kim Oden (1988, 1992)
Kristin Klein (1996)
Bev Oden (1996)
Logan Tom (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
Kerri Walsh (2000)
Ogonna Nnamani (2004, 2008)
Foluke Akinradewo (2012, 2016)
Beach Olympians
Nancy Reno (1996)
Barbra Fontana (1996)
Kerri Walsh (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)