Misty May-Treanor: Singing her Books Instead of Preparing for the AVP Event in France
Misty May-Treanor had a disappointing Gstaad AVP event in Switzerland last weekend, when she was defeated with her partner Nicole Branagh against Finland’s Emilia and Erika Nystrom. May-Treanor appeared jovial this Tuesday nonetheless when she appeared at her book-signing for her autobiography entitled "Misty: Digging Deep in Volleyball and Life." More than 100 fans were present for the event, and went home from Barnes & Noble in Huntington Beach with a copy signed by the American volleyball player.
May-Treanor was set on having the book-signing in Huntington Beach as the place is close to her roots. "There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed [in Long Beach] and eating food that you're familiar with," she confided to her fans sitting on the floor of the Barnes & Noble. The volleyball star had just come back from AVP events in Europe, notably Norway (Stavanger Grand Slam), Switzerland (Gstaad tournament), and Russia.
When asked how well her books were selling, she answered that she didn’t know yet: "I've been so out of the loop because I have been overseas."
May-Treanor is a star both inside and outside the beach volleyball world. She is indeed one of the most widely known American athletes at the moment. This is mostly due to the two Olympic gold medals that she proudly won for her homeland, but it is not the only reason. She also finished first during 106 events, and is married to professional baseball player, Florida Marlins catcher Matt Treanor.
She has been seen on television numerous times, including appearing on 'Dancing with the Stars'. This appearance in 2009 was very costly to May-Treanor. She injured her Achilles tendon while rehearsing for a fox-trot routine. This injury made her miss a major part of the beach volleyball season.
Despite making quite a few non volleyball-related media appearances, her book focuses on volleyball - to her supporters’ relief - and she has enough experience on the beach volleyball field to write about.
She began her professional career in 1999, finishing ninth at her first tournament. She then entered the FIVB event in Salvador, Brazil, with Holly McPeak, and finished ninth again. The next year, she won three out of the four tournaments she competed in, before winning her first event at home at the USAV tournament in Deerfield Beach. She moved on to reach seven gold medals matches, and won three more titles. It was due to her first victory in an international event, the Grand Slam in Chicago, that May-Treanor was able to qualify for the Sydney Olympics, where she ranked fifth.
While May-Treanor has been competing for a long time with Kerri Walsh, and accumulated numerous titles with her, the American broke their partnership this year to play with Nicole Branagh. May-Treanor began playing with her new partner at the season opener in Fort Lauderdale, where the two won. This was the first time they were participating at the tournament, making their victory the first time a new team had won at domestic event since 2002, and they were only the second team to achieve this since 1996.
The newly established partners then reached the semi-finals at their first two AVP events together, losing the next three tournaments in three set-matches. During the FIVB tour, the American partners reached the semi-finals three times, finishing at best third.
After not having competed brilliantly with her partner last weekend in Switzerland, May-Treanor does not seek a victory in the upcoming AVP tour event in Marseille, France next week.
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