Kerri Walsh Jennings and partner Brooke Sweat were eliminated from Olympic contention on Wednesday, losing in a qualifying round of the final qualifier in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Walsh Jennings, a 42-year-old, triple Olympic champion, and Sweat needed to finish third or better in Ostrava to have any chance of passing Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil for the second and final U.S. Olympic beach volleyball spot.
Instead, they did not reach the main draw of 32 teams, losing a qualifying match to a young Dutch team that hasn’t made it past the round of 16 in five top-level events this year.