Misty May-Treanor, who just two months ago announced her return to beach volleyball, was forced to forfeit on Sunday from the FIVB bronze medal match in Sanya, China due to a knee injury.
Because of her injury first sustained during a semi-final match on Saturday, May-Treanor and partner Kerri Walsh defaulted to China’s Xue Chen and Zhang Xi. After losing the first set, 21-13 and then falling behind in the second by a 10-8 margin, May-Treanor became bothered by her left knee, and left the court. The Chinese pair is now pitted against the top-ranked Brazilian team, Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva, in the gold medal finals later today.
While relying on treatment overnight, the two-time Olympics gold medalists hoped to battle for the bronze this morning against Talita Da Rocha Antunes and Maria Antonelli of Brazil. However, the couple chose to withdraw from this consolation match to avoid further aggravating the injury.
Walsh said, "She injured her left knee and we don't know how serious it is," as reported by Xinhua News.
Knee injuries are among the most common in beach volleyball where an athlete needs to quickly plant and turn a leg, often in deep sand, to dig a ball or block an attack.
May-Treanor is no stranger to setbacks like these. Leading up to both the Athens and Beijing Olympics, she aggravated stomach muscles that healed just in time for the Games. And, off-the-court, she tore her Achilles tendon during a practice session for a Dancing With The Stars performance in October 2008.
The women compete on the FIVB international tour in Shanghai, China starting on Tuesday. So far, May-Treanor and Walsh are still registered for this event.
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