A pair of Southern California natives won the gold medal in women's beach volleyball Friday at the Olympics.
April Ross from Costa Mesa and Alex Klineman from Manhattan Beach, known as the “A Team,” took down Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy in the gold medal match at Tokyo’s Shiokaze Park.
Klineman said she will never forget standing on the podium with a gold medal.
“It was such a special moment for us to be up there on the podium together giving each other that medal. We just wanted this so bad. We dreamed of this and worked so hard for this. It was an amazing moment,” she said.
Friday’s win earned Ross her third Olympic medal, but this was her first gold. She praised her teammate.
“There’s so many emotions and so many ups and downs. To really stay on the same team and have that mutual respect for each other, I think that is huge. I think that’s a big part of why we got to where we’ve gotten,” said Ross.
The parents of Klineman hosted a watch party at the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach on Thursday evening, according to The Daily Breeze.
The paper said Klineman’s sister, Maddy, was “proud beyond words” of her sister's accomplishments as she watched from their hometown.
“I’m getting butterflies thinking about it,” Maddy said. “I’m nervous, but they’ve been doing so well. I have a lot of confidence.”
Both played indoor volleyball in college. Klineman played for Stanford, and Ross at USC.