US beach volleyball legend gives master class in Moscow

American youth volleyball players and coaches have come to get a Russian take on the beach game. They are part of an exchange program that was the brainchild of the Russian and American presidents.

This is the third sports exchange created under the program, and this year the American delegation consists of 20 youngsters and four coaches. But the biggest surprise is that two-time Olympic gold medal winning beach volleyball icon Misty May-Treanor came to Moscow to give a few lessons both to Russian and American youths.

One week will be spent in the capital and their second week in Russia will be spent in the town of Anapa on the Black Sea coast.

Due to the weather conditions and the smoke in Moscow, the event had to change location and was held indoors. Even though May-Treanor could not perform her trademark dives in the sand, she was not too disappointed.

May-Treanor and teammate Kerri Walsh got their first gold medals in Athens in 2004. Four years later they repeated their success in Beijing, becoming the first team ever to become back-to-back champions.

The American nicknamed the “Turtle” is the most successful female volleyball player of all time, with 107 career wins.

She practiced volleyball during the Olympic Games with former president of the US, George W. Bush, and it is no wonder she is an envoy of the Presidential Commission.

What excited most of the American youngsters was the chance to train with a volleyball idol.

They did not get a chance to play on the Moscow sand, but getting to play with a legend certainly made up for it.