Misty May-Treanor believes that an atmosphere in which both she and Kerri Walsh Jennings felt free to “make mistakes” was the key to one of the most successful partnerships of the modern Olympic age. Here, the US beach volleyball star lifts the lid on life as a triple gold medal-winning duo.

From the record-breaking Michael Phelps and the trend-setting Usain Bolt to the heart-warming stories of China’s brave shooting star Du Li and Afghanistan’s remarkable Rohullah Nikpai, the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 had it all. 

Two of the most popular sports on the Olympic programme – basketball and volleyball – each have their origins in the US state of Massachusetts, where they were devised by two pioneering physical education teachers in the 19th century.

Re-live Wednesday 17 August 2016 in Rio on olympic.org. Japanese wrestler Kaori Icho claimed a first for women: a fourth consecutive gold medal, remaining undefeated at the Olympic Games! Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson achieved the rare 100m/200m double in women’s athletics, and China won a new table tennis Grand Slam.

Generating excitement aplenty on the host city’s most famous beach, the Rio 2016 beach volleyball competitions left the local fans feeling mixed emotions. While Germany’s Kira Walkenhorst and Laura Ludwig beat Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas de Freitas to the women’s gold, home favourites Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt got the better of Italy’s Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo to win the men’s title.

Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst won Germany’s first women's Olympic beach volleyball medal, defeating Brazil in gusty conditions on Copacabana.

American beach volleyball legend Kerri Walsh Jennings is looking forward to playing on Rio's iconic – and natural – Copacabana beach.

With Copacabana, the world’s most iconic beach and game’s spiritual home, as the venue, beach volleyball players are preparing for a truly special race for gold.