Lausanne, Switzerland, December 20, 2016 – American beach volleyball star Phil Dalhausser, winner of the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics, says he hasn’t ruled out competing in a fourth straight Olympic Games and could be in Tokyo in 2020.
“I’ll be 40 then so I’m not so sure if I want to play that long,”
Dalhausser told Fox News reporter Kayla Knierim. “I’m just taking it year by year but if I keep winning tournaments and I’m still winning in 2019 then the chances are I’ll play 2020.”
Dalhausser had a disappointing Olympics in 2016 when he and partner Nick Lucena were eliminated in the quarterfinals by local favourites Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt, but that is not something he drags around with him. “You can’t really dwell too much on how we finished in Rio,” he says.
Dalhausser admits he is “big into fantasy football” but when it comes to heroes, he looks up to two special players in another of his favourite sports, tennis.
“I’ve always been a big fan of Pete Sampras and more recently Roger Federer,” he admits. “They’re very humble winners and I admire that.”
Like Federer, Dalhausser originally hails from Switzerland, but after growing up in Florida, he is now firmly settled in Los Angeles with his wife – Jennifer Corral, herself a beach volleyball player – and two kids.
He is currently promoting L.A.’s “beautiful” beaches in conjunction with sponsor Red Bull, but self-promotion is not always something he’s good at.
“Because I’m a little older, I struggle with the social media part of being a professional athtlete,” he says, admitting that his wife handles most of that for him.
Dalhausser, who will be 37 in January, is now getting ready for the new beach volleyball season and will be aiming for a record 12th straight year with a title on the FIVB World Tour.
The article and interview can be accessed
here.