Kerri Walsh Jennings facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kerri Walsh Jennings
Walsh-Jennings after winning the FIVB Moscow Grand Slam in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings
Nickname	Six Feet of Sunshine
Born	August 15, 1978 (1978-08-15) (age 46) Santa Clara, California, U.S.
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	157 lb (71 kg)
College(s)	Stanford University
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
Years Teammate 2019–present Brooke Sweat
Previous teammates
Years Teammate 2013–2017 2011–2012 2010 2001–2009 April Ross Misty May-Treanor Nicole Branagh Misty May-Treanor
Medal record Women's beach volleyball Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens Beach Gold 2008 Beijing Beach Gold 2012 London Beach Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Beach World Championships Gold 2003 Rio de Janeiro Beach Gold 2005 Berlin Beach Gold 2007 Gstaad Beach Silver 2011 Rome Beach World Tour Gold 2002 Madrid Beach Gold 2002 Gstaad Beach Gold 2002 Montreal Beach Gold 2002 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2002 Maoming Beach Gold 2003 Gstaad Beach Gold 2003 Marseille Beach Gold 2003 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2003 Carson Beach Gold 2004 Fortaleza Beach Gold 2004 Rhodes Beach Gold 2004 Gstaad Beach Gold 2004 Marseille Beach Gold 2004 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2005 Portugal Beach Gold 2005 Paris Beach Gold 2005 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2005 Brazil Beach Gold 2005 South Africa Beach Gold 2006 Greece Beach Gold 2006 Gstaad Beach Gold 2006 Mexico Beach Gold 2007 Paris Beach Gold 2007 Montreal Beach Gold 2007 Berlin Beach Gold 2007 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2007 Brazil Beach Gold 2007 Phuket Beach Gold 2008 Berlin Beach Gold 2008 Paris Beach Gold 2008 Stavanger Beach Gold 2008 Dubai Beach Gold 2010 Phuket Beach Gold 2011 Beijing Beach Gold 2011 Moscow Beach Gold 2011 Klagenfurt Beach Gold 2012 Gstaad Beach Gold 2013 São Paulo Beach Gold 2013 Xiamen Beach Gold 2014 Fuzhou Beach Gold 2014 Moscow Beach Gold 2014 Stavanger Beach Gold 2014 Long Beach Beach Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Beach Gold 2016 Fuzhou Beach Gold 2016 Cincinnati Beach Gold 2016 Moscow Beach Gold 2016 Long Beach Beach Gold 2019 Jinjiang Beach Silver 2002 Marseille Beach Silver 2002 Mallorca Beach Silver 2002 Vitória Beach Silver 2003 Stavanger Beach Silver 2005 Acapulco Beach Silver 2006 Italy Beach Silver 2006 Paris Beach Silver 2011 Brasília Beach Silver 2011 PAF Beach Silver 2011 The Hague Beach Silver 2012 Moscow Beach Silver 2015 Long Beach Beach Silver 2016 Vitória Beach Silver 2016 Gstaad Beach Silver 2019 Kuala Lumpur Beach Silver 2020 Qinzhou Beach Bronze 2002 Osaka Beach Bronze 2003 Rhodes Beach Bronze 2004 Stavanger Beach Bronze 2006 Brazil Beach Bronze 2006 Thailand Beach Bronze 2007 Stavanger Beach Bronze 2015 Fuzhou Beach Bronze 2016 Xiamen Beach Bronze 2019 Chetumal Beach Bronze 2019 Sydney Beach Bronze 2019 Moscow Beach
Last updated: 2024

Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings (born August 15, 1978) is an amazing American professional beach volleyball player. She has won three Olympic gold medals and one Olympic bronze medal. As of 2016, she holds the record for the most career victories in beach volleyball. She has won 135 international and domestic tournaments!

Kerri Walsh Jennings and her former teammate Misty May-Treanor were a super successful team. They won gold medals in beach volleyball at the 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, and 2012 London Summer Olympics. They also won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships three times. These wins were in 2003, 2005, and 2007.

This famous duo set many records together. One amazing record was a win streak of 112 matches in a row from 2007 to 2008. This meant they won 19 tournaments without losing! People often call them "the greatest beach volleyball team of all time."

Kerri's Early Life and School Years

Kerri Walsh was born in Santa Clara, California. Her parents are Margery Lee and Timothy Joseph Walsh. She grew up in Scotts Valley, which is about 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Santa Cruz. She went to school there until she finished middle school.

Before high school, her family moved to San Jose. Kerri went to Archbishop Mitty High School. She played on both the volleyball and basketball teams. She helped her school's volleyball teams win three state championships. These wins were in 1993, 1994, and 1995. She also helped her basketball team win a state championship in 1995.

In 1996, Kerri was named the Gatorade National High School Volleyball Player of the Year. This was the first time this award was given out. She was also the top volleyball recruit in the country in 1995. It's interesting to note that in high school, she actually played against her future beach volleyball partner, Misty May-Treanor.

Kerri's College Volleyball Career

Kerri Walsh received a volleyball scholarship to attend Stanford University. While at Stanford, she was chosen as a first-team All-American for four years in a row. This is a rare achievement in college volleyball. Only one other player had done this before her.

Her Stanford volleyball team won over 90% of their matches. Their overall record was 122 wins and only 11 losses. The team won four Pac-10 titles. They also reached the NCAA Final Four three times. They won the championship in 1996 and 1997. In her senior year in 1999, they lost in the championship game to Penn State.

Kerri was named the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the Final Four in 1996. In 1999, she was named co-National Player of the Year. She was also the first player in PAC-10 history to achieve amazing stats. She had over 1,500 kills (1,553), 1,200 digs (1,285), and 500 blocks (502). Many consider Kerri Walsh to be one of the best all-around players in college volleyball history. She graduated from Stanford in 2001 with a degree in American studies.

Kerri's Professional Beach Volleyball Journey

Walsh (right) at Grand Slam Moscow, 2012

Kerri Walsh-Jennings plays professional beach volleyball on the U.S. AVP Tour. She also plays internationally on the FIVB World Tour. For most of her career, she played with her partner Misty May-Treanor. They became the most successful beach volleyball team in AVP history.

May and Walsh started playing together on the beach circuit in 2001. They finished that season ranked fifth in the world. In 2002, they became the number one ranked team. They continued to dominate in 2003. They won all eight tournaments they entered. They also set a record of 90 straight match wins. This included winning the world championships. There, they beat the defending world champions from Brazil.

In 2010, May-Treanor and Walsh extended their winning streak to 112 matches. This amazing run ended when they lost to Olympic teammates Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh. This happened at the AVP Crocs Cup Shootout in Ohio. Up to that point, the pair had won 19 titles in a row.

After Misty May-Treanor retired in 2012, Kerri teamed up with April Ross. Kerri then broke the career record for most wins by a female professional volleyball player. She achieved this when she won the FIVB Grand Slam in Xiamen, China. This win gave Kerri her 113th career title. It broke the previous record held by May-Treanor. Walsh and Ross won the final match 21–14, 17–21, 15–12 against a Brazilian team. This was their third title in five events since they started playing together.

World Tour Highlights in 2016

Kerri Walsh-Jennings and April Ross played together at the Long Beach, California Grand Slam in 2016. This event was part of the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. The pair won all three of their pool play matches. They beat teams from Brazil and Canada.

In the semi-finals on August 27, 2016, Walsh Jennings and Ross played against a German team. They won in two straight sets (21–17, 21–16). In the finals, Walsh Jennings and Ross defeated a Spanish team. They won in two straight sets (21–16, 21–16) to earn the gold medal.

Later, at the World Tour Finals in Toronto, they were in Pool A. They finished first with a 2-0 record and moved on to the quarter-finals.

Partnership Changes in 2017-2019

In 2017, Walsh-Jennings announced that she would not sign a new contract with the AVP. This was due to disagreements with the organization. April Ross then re-signed with the AVP. This meant that Kerri and April ended their partnership. Walsh-Jennings then teamed up again with Nicole Branagh. She had briefly played with Nicole in 2010 when May-Treanor took a break.

In October 2018, Walsh-Jennings announced a new partnership with Brooke Sweat. They hoped to qualify for the Tokyo Games in 2020. Brooke Sweat is known as a defensive specialist. She has won the defensive player of the year award on the AVP tour four times. However, the pair did not qualify for the games, which were postponed until 2021.

Kerri's Olympic Appearances

Sydney 2000 Olympics

Kerri Walsh played in the 2000 Summer Olympics as an opposite hitter for the U.S. women's indoor volleyball team. Her team finished in fourth place.

She missed some of her first games due to an issue with a drug test. After being retested, Kerri was cleared and allowed to play.

Athens 2004 Olympics

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won the gold medal in women's beach volleyball. They did not lose a single set in all seven of their Olympic matches. This was an incredible achievement!

Beijing 2008 Olympics

U.S. President George W. Bush visits Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor at the 2008 Olympics.

On August 21, 2008, Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor won their second Olympic gold medal. They defeated the top-seeded Chinese team in the final match. May-Treanor and Walsh had not lost a set in either the 2004 or 2008 Olympics. Their final match extended their unbeaten streak to 108 matches.

London 2012 Olympics

Walsh and May-Treanor played together for the last time at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. They continued their Olympic winning streak of 32 consecutive sets. This streak ended when they lost the first set to Austria in a preliminary round. However, they still won the match (17–21; 21–8; 15–10).

The pair then faced China in the semi-finals. They won a tough match against Xue Chen and Zhang Xi (22–20, 22–20) to reach the finals. In an all-USA final, they defeated fellow Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross. They won 21–16, 21–16 to claim their third gold medal. This victory made Walsh and May-Treanor one of the few athletes to win gold medals in three Olympics in a row.

Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics

Walsh-Jennings partnered with April Ross for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The pair made it to the semi-finals. There, they lost to Brazil's Ágatha Bednarczuk and Bárbara Seixas in two close sets (22-20, 21–18).

In the bronze medal match, Walsh-Jennings and Ross played against the number one ranked team from Brazil. This was a match many thought would be the gold medal game. Walsh-Jennings and Ross lost the first set. They were down by three points in the second set. But they made a great comeback to win (17–21, 21–17, 15–9). This bronze medal was Kerri Walsh-Jennings' fourth Olympic medal. This made her the most decorated beach volleyball player in Olympic history, for both men and women.

Kerri's Media Appearances

Walsh with April Ross and John Kerry

In February 2006, Kerri Walsh Jennings had a guest role on an episode of CSI: Miami. She appeared with several other AVP Volleyball players.

Walsh Jennings also hosted a weekly radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio's Faction 28 station. It aired every Sunday.

She appeared on the Game Show Network show Extreme Dodgeball. She was part of the Detroit Spoilers team.

Walsh Jennings also appeared with her volleyball partner Misty May-Treanor on the show Shaq Vs. This was in August 2009.

Kerri appeared in the ESPN The Magazine "Body Issue." Images were taken both before and after she gave birth to her third child.

Walsh appeared in the twelfth season of Hell's Kitchen. She gave the team challenge winner a private volleyball lesson.

In 2015, Walsh Jennings and her husband appeared on Celebrity Wife Swap. She swapped places with Tami Roman from the TV show Basketball Wives.

Kerri's Personal Life

In 2005, Kerri Walsh married Casey Jennings, who is also a professional beach volleyball player. They have three children together: two sons and a daughter. Kerri was five weeks pregnant during the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

Walsh trained on the sand in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles, California. From 2002, she also did extra gym training with trainer Tommy Knox.

Kerri's Awards and Honors

Walsh (left) with Misty May-Treanor in 2005

Kerri Walsh Jennings has received many awards and honors throughout her career:

• AVP Best Offensive Player (2): 2003, 2014
• AVP Crocs Cup Champion (3): 2006, 2007, 2008 (all with Misty May-Treanor)
• AVP Most Valuable Player (2): 2003, 2004
• AVP Team of the Year (8): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (with Misty May-Treanor), 2014, 2016 (with April Ross)
• AVP Best Defensive Player (Blocker) (1): 2008
• FIVB Best Blocker (7): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014
• FIVB Best Hitter (5): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2016
• FIVB Best Offensive Player (2): 2007, 2014
• FIVB Most Outstanding (4): 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014
• FIVB Sportsperson (5): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012
• FIVB Tour Champion (1): 2002 (with Misty May-Treanor)
• Sportswoman of the Year Award (2): 2004 and 2006 (with Misty May-Treanor)

Kerri's Amazing Achievements

• Most women's career tournament victories: 133
• Most women's career earnings: $2,561,635
• Record win streak of 112 consecutive matches and 19 straight tournaments. This streak lasted from August 2007 to August 2008.

See also

In Spanish: Kerri Walsh Jennings para niños