Extending their Olympic winning streak to 21 consecutive games, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings bested fellow Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross at the beach volleyball finals in London on Wednesday (August 8).
The faceoff between the pair of American squads marked the first time since the sport debuted at the Olympics in 1996 that two teams from the same country battled in the gold medal match.
In the end, 33-year-old Walsh Jennings and 35-year-old May-Treanor put forth their third consecutive event winning performance - as the duo won top honors in Athens, Beijing, and now London.
Of the feat, Kerri told NBC, "Misty and I have something really special. The world knows it, we know it, and we embrace it."
Having trouble finding words, Misty May - who plans to retire from the sport following London's 2012 Olympic Summer Games - overwhelmingly uttered, "I'm a little speechless right now. I can't believe this is my last match."
With Prince Harry watching from the stands, the 11-year teammates pulled ahead in the first set and came out strong in the second, never losing their lead.
After the match, the exuberant partners made a victory lap in the stands, high-fiving fans and hugging friends and family.
Following the medal ceremony, Walshj Jennings summed up her feelings, saying, "It's insane. It doesn't feel like it's real. I told Misty when we were getting our medals, 'If I wake up tomorrow and we have to replay this match, I'm going to be furious.' Because it feels like I'm in a dream. It truly feels surreal and it didn't feel like that the first two times for whatever reason. But this, it's almost too good to be true."
Kessy and Ross earned a silver for the U.S. while Juliana and Larissa of Brazil beat Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China to take the bronze.
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