After a shoulder injury in the semifinals of the Olszyn Four-Star event in July, Kerri Walsh Jennings was forced to withdraw from the World Championships.
As the 2018 season gears up, VolleyMob sat down with Walsh Jennings to discuss her new venture P1440, but first the three-time Olympic champ was happy to share good news about her return to the sand after two offseason surgeries.
“My body is feeling really good,” Walsh Jennings said. “I had my shoulder surgery in September and prior to that I had my ankle surgery. So, I am feeling very, very optimistic about this run to Toyko. I actually plan on qualifying and plan on going for gold alongside my partner Nicole Branaugh, who is a champion in so many ways.
“I feel like a hurt my shoulder this last time because my ankle was so bad. And had I not hurt my shoulder, I would never have fixed my ankle, so it is one of those blessings in disguise. It was sad at first, but ultimately it has led me to better places.”
The 39-year old said the ankle injury was not a new one, but is now healed alongside her shoulder and that she is ready to go for 2018.
“For the last couple of years, I would say since 2014-15, my ankle has been steadily getting worse and worse and worse and been affecting me in really tough ways,” Walsh Jennings said. “I am a little dense and it takes me a little while to figure out what is going on because I just want to push through and be tough. Ultimately, it just led me down a path where my body was hurting itself. So, I feel so excited to be fixed.
“My shoulder feels great and I am going to start practice on March 8 with Marcio Sicoli, his staff and Nicole and I. My plan is to play in most of the four and five star FIVB events and then I will play in our P1440 event series, which there will be four, which will be a good schedule of competition. We need to get our points up for sure.”
Getting back to practice after surgery is great news for sure, but Walsh Jennings dropped the best news of all as we wrapped up our conversation: when will be see her back on the sand.
“April in China,” she said. “I can’t wait.”
That event, the Xiamen Four Star, will take place April 18-22 in Xiamen, China.
Xiamen has been good to Walsh Jennings over the years, earning her gold in 2013 and bronze in 2016 with former partner April Ross.
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