Dain Blanton
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Dain J. Blanton (born November 28, 1971) is an American former
beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...
player who won the gold medal in beach volleyball in the
2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
with partner
Eric Fonoimoana Eric Fonoimoana (born June 7, 1969) is an American former beach volleyball player of Samoan descent who paired with Dain Blanton to win the gold medal in beach volleyball at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He played professionall ...
. He returned to the
2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...
in
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
with partner
Jeff Nygaard Jeff Wayne Nygaard (born August 3, 1972) is an American volleyball coach and former volleyball player. He was a member of the United States national indoor team in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He ...
, becoming the first two-time U.S. male beach volleyball Olympian. He is the current head coach for the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
's women's beach volleyball team, having won 6 national titles with the program (4 as head coach, 2 as assistant coach).


Career

Blanton is one of the only players in the history of volleyball to win a championship at every level of the game (collegiate, Olympic, and professional). As a high school senior in 1990, Blanton was named the Orange County Player of the Year, Most Valuable Player of the Pacific Coast League and earned All-American honors at the Junior Olympics. Blanton was also an All-State Basketball player who led Laguna Beach to the CIF Finals in 1990. Blanton attended
Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...
, where he was an All-American and guided the Waves to an NCAA Championship in 1992 as a sophomore. Blanton was known for his fast serve, holding the AVP record for 11 aces in a single game to 15 in
Vail, Colorado Vail is a Home rule in the United States, home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the ...
, in 1997. After winning gold at the 2000 Olympics, Blanton and Fonoimoana broke their partnership because of rule changes that went into effect in 2001. (Rally or point per play scoring as opposed to having to serve to score a point; court size changed from 30x30 feet per side to 8x8 meters). Height became a deciding factor because the new rules provided an advantage for a full-time tall blocker at the net. They went separate ways in search of big blockers. In the 2004 Olympics, Blanton and Nygaard were seeded eighth, but failed to advance out of pool play. Currently, Blanton is a sports broadcasting analyst covering the FIVB, AVP, NVL (National Volleyball League), and the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series, as well as working as a sideline reporter for the Los Angeles Clippers. His career in sports broadcasting has involved working with ABC, NBC, ESPN, Fox Sports Net, and Universal Sports Network. He covers many sports including NBA, beach volleyball, MLB, college basketball, and college football. Blanton also does motivational speaking events each year to inspire and be a role-model. Blanton was the runner-up to Andrew Firestone on the third season of the ABC television network reality show '' The Bachelor''.


Awards and honors

* 1992 NCAA National Champion (Pepperdine University) * 1994 NCAA All-American * 1997 Special Achievement * 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist (beach volleyball with partner Eric Fonoimoana) * 2004 Olympian (beach volleyball with partner Jeff Nygaard) * 2003 AVP Best Offensive Player * 2003 Team of the Year * 2015 AVCA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) Assistant Coach * 2016 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) Assistant Coach * 2017 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) Assistant Coach * 2021 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) Head Coach * 2022 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) Head Coach * 2023 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) Head Coach * 2024 NCAA National Champion (women's beach volleyball, USC) Head Coach


References


External links

*
Dain Blanton
at AVP (archived) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanton, Dain 1971 births Living people Beach volleyball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Beach volleyball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic beach volleyball players for the United States Olympic medalists in beach volleyball Pepperdine Waves men's volleyball players Los Angeles Clippers announcers NBA broadcasters American men's beach volleyball players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen