Dain Blanton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dain Blanton |
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| Born | November 28, 1971 (age 53) Laguna Beach, California, U.S. |
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| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College(s) | Pepperdine University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Dain Blanton (born November 28, 1971) is a famous American former beach volleyball player. He won a gold medal in beach volleyball at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. His partner for that amazing win was Eric Fonoimoana.
Dain also competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, with his partner Jeff Nygaard. This made him the first American male beach volleyball player to go to the Olympics twice! Today, Dain is the head coach for the University of Southern California's women's beach volleyball team. He has helped them win many national titles.
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Dain Blanton's Volleyball Journey
Dain Blanton is one of the few volleyball players ever to win championships at every level of the game. This includes college, the Olympics, and professional tournaments.
High School and College Success
When Dain was a senior in high school in 1990, he was named the best player in Orange County. He also earned All-American honors at the Junior Olympics. Besides volleyball, Dain was a great basketball player. He led his high school team to the CIF Finals in 1990.
Dain went to Pepperdine University for college. There, he became an All-American player. He helped his team, the Waves, win an NCAA Championship in 1992. This was a huge achievement for him as a sophomore.
Professional Play and Olympic Gold
Dain Blanton was known for his very fast serve. He even set a record for the AVP (a professional volleyball league). He hit 11 aces in one game in 1997. An ace is when you serve the ball and the other team cannot return it, scoring a point directly.
After winning the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics, Dain and his partner Eric Fonoimoana decided to play with different partners. This was because new rules came out in 2001. These rules made it more helpful to have a very tall player who could block shots at the net. So, they each looked for new partners who were taller blockers.
In the 2004 Olympics, Dain and his new partner, Jeff Nygaard, were ranked eighth. However, they did not make it past the first round of games.
Life After Playing
Today, Dain Blanton works as a sports commentator. He talks about volleyball games for different networks. He also works as a sideline reporter for the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. You might have seen him on ABC, NBC, ESPN, or Fox Sports Net.
Dain also gives motivational speeches. He shares his story to inspire young people and be a good role model. Fun fact: Dain was also a runner-up on the TV show The Bachelor in its third season.
Awards and Honors
Dain Blanton has received many awards and honors throughout his career:
- 1992 NCAA National Champion (with Pepperdine University)
- 1994 NCAA All-American
- 1997 Special Achievement Award
- 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist (beach volleyball with Eric Fonoimoana)
- 2004 Olympian (beach volleyball with Jeff Nygaard)
- 2003 AVP Best Offensive Player
- 2003 Team of the Year
- 2015 AVCA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) as Assistant Coach
- 2016 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) as Assistant Coach
- 2017 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) as Assistant Coach
- 2021 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) as Head Coach
- 2022 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) as Head Coach
- 2023 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) as Head Coach
- 2024 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) as Head Coach
See also
In Spanish: Dain Blanton para niños
