May-Treanor was named Most Outstanding Player of the Olympic tournament, an honor she also either claimed or shared on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals and Federation Internationale de Volleyball tours.
She became the first female to earn 100 AVP tournament titles, pocketing 12 top prizes on that circuit to go with four FIVB tournament crowns in 2008.
Her celebrity status escalated with myriad television appearances on talk shows, even prime-time programs, as well as the frequent coverage of her on-court exploits.
It was one such foray on the airwaves, however, that brought adversity, as she ruptured her left Achilles tendon while practicing for the popular “Dancing With the Stars,” television program. The injury will sideline her for the 2009 beach volleyball season.
2 Aaron Peirsol’s golden touch: The Newport Harbor High product swam to two gold medals in Beijing, upping his career total in that department to five and giving him seven Olympic medals, including two silver, in three Olympiads.
In Beijing, he topped the field in the 100-meter backstroke, setting a world record with a time of 52.54 seconds.
He was also favored to win the 200 back, but was upset by fellow American Ryan Lochte and settled for a silver medal.
Peirsol added his second gold medal by leading off the 400 medley relay, that helped Michael Phelps add to what became his record-setting total of eight gold medals. The winning time of 3:29.34 was a world record.
