A Detour Precedes Olympics

Jeff Nygaard has never had a dream about winning an Olympic medal, but that has more to do with his birthday than it does his desire to win one.

“Usually my dreams are kind of nightmarish about me trying to save someone, but that’s because I’m a Leo,” he said. “I have daydreams about winning the Olympics. I think I could handle that.”

Nygaard and partner Dain Blanton lead all men’s U.S. beach volleyball teams in a close race for two berths in the Athens Olympics. They put Nygaard’s daydreams on hold for a few weeks however, choosing to skip Olympic qualifying tournaments last week and this week to play AVP Nissan series events in Southern California.

It was a risky move considering the three other teams still in the chase played in Serbia last week and could have gained ground while Blanton and Nygaard played in Huntington Beach because AVP events don’t count toward Olympic qualifying points.

The decision hasn’t hurt them so far, however, because none of the other teams finished better than ninth in Serbia and Blanton and Nygaard retained a comfortable lead in the points standings. They have 2,188 points in the complex process. Todd Rogers and Sean Scott are second with 1,624 while Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger are third with 1,512.

Eric Fonoimoana and Kevin Wong have 890 points and still have an outside shot for one of the two berths. There are five qualifying events remaining before the Olympic teams are announced, though all but Rogers and Scott are skipping this week’s tournament in Portugal.

“Skipping qualifying events is risky in a sense, but not really,” said Blanton, who teamed with Fonoimoana to win a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics. “We have a pretty good lead. If we play well in the remaining events we should be in good shape.”

The big event is the Grand Slam in Berlin June 23-27. That tournament is a double-points event so the standings could shuffle. A fifth-place finish in the Grand Slam is worth as much as winning a regular points event.

Olympic qualifying points are based on a team’s top eight finishes in international tournaments. If a team plays more than eight events, only the best eight point totals count. Blanton and Nygaard are almost a lock. It would take extraordinary efforts by two of the other teams to sidetrack them.

“Right now we’re operating under the assumption that we’re going to go,” Nygaard said. “Obviously it may be a little narcissistic and maybe counting the chickens before they hatch, but we’re going to have some opportunities to get points, especially with Berlin.”

Fonoimoana and Wong are defending champions at the AVP’s Manhattan Beach Open this weekend and decided to skip the Portugal event even though it means a lost opportunity for points. They haven’t given up hopes of making the Olympics, but Fonoimoana acknowledged that their chances are getting slimmer.

“We haven’t played very well so we probably don’t deserve to represent the U.S.,” he said. “It would be a bummer not to go back after winning last time, but if we’re not the best team, we shouldn’t go.”

Metzger and Holdren originally entered the Portugal event, but Metzger injured his elbow so the pair had to pull out at the last minute. They are 112 points behind Rogers and Scott, but they have played only six tournaments, so high finishes in their next two tournaments could go a long way in passing Rogers and Scott.

Holdren and Metzger will add points no matter where they finish in their next two events and will continue to add points after that with any finish of seventh or better. Rogers and Scott have to finish second or better in order to add points.

“It’s tough to have to miss an event, but there’s still four or five more,” Holdren said. “We definitely have an advantage having played only six events, but it’s only an advantage if we start taking advantage of the advantage.”

A good opportunity for all teams arises next week in Puerto Rico. The European Championships are being played the same week, meaning seven of the top 10 teams in the world rankings will not be there.

“You’re going to have an open door path to at least the semis,” Nygaard said. “If we let that one go, some teams are going to make up some points so we’ve got to go to that.”

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*--* Top Americans Olympic qualifying points leaders: TEAM PTS. 1. Dain Blanton/Jeff Nygaard 2,188 2. Todd Rogers/Sean Scott 1,624 3. Stein Metzger/Dax Holdren 1,512 4. Eric Fonoimoana/Kevin Wong 890 TOURNAMENTS Today-Sunday, Portugal June 9-13, Puerto Rico June 16-20, Switzerland June 23-27, Germany July 1-4, Norway

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