Medal shutout: U.S. men’s beach volleyball duo loses to Qatar

There will be no medals for the United States in beach volleyball for the first time since it became an Olympic sport in 1996.

Miles Partain and Andy Benesh were the last Americans alive and they lost 21-14, 21-16 to Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar in Wednesday’s quarterfinals at Paris below the Eiffel Tower.

“Qatar played really well,” Benesh said. “We just didn’t execute as well as them.”

The other men’s team of Miles Evans and former NBA player Chase Budinger were previously eliminated in the round of 16.

On the women’s side, Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth lost in the round of 16 while Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng were beaten in the quarterfinals.

The medal shutout was complete after Partain and Benesh were unable to prevail.

“I wish one of our teams did (win a medal),” Partain said. “We did the best we could.”

A U.S. women’s team won four of the previous five gold medals before this year’s showing. The legendary duo of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings combined to win three straight from 2004-2012.

But the period of dominance now appears to be a thing of the past for the U.S. in beach volleyball.

Even more so now that the landscape has changed.

“It’s a little bit different than it was 20 years ago. There’s a lot of competition around the world,” Benesh said. “As a fan of beach volleyball it’s fun to watch, people are playing with different styles in men’s and women’s (competition).”

The Qatar duo will face Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig in Thursday’s semifinals. Germany’s Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler will meet Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum in the other men’s semi.

In the women’s competition, Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson will face Switzerland’s Tanja Hueberli and Nina Brunner, while Brazil’s Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa will battle Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy.

–Field Level Media