One of the legends of beach volleyball has walked away from the sport, bowing out after competing one last time at the “mecca of beach volleyball.” Todd Rogers retired over the weekend after placing seventh at the AVP Tour’s Manhattan Beach Open.
Rogers, 42, won the 2008 Olympic gold medal with Phil Dalhausser, becoming the third U.S. men’s pair to capture the title. The duo went on to also compete at the 2012 London Games, where they were the second-ranked team in the field. But an injury to Dalhausser prior to the Olympics hindered their play. They finished ninth and separated soon thereafter.
But for a span of nearly five years, Rogers and Dalhausser were one of the best teams in the world – and clearly the best in 2010. They became the first American men to win an FIVB beach volleyball world title in 2007, won the Olympic gold in 2008, captured world championship bronze in 2009, and then dominated the world tour in 2010.
Rogers and Dalhausser won nine of the 12 FIVB tournaments they appeared in that year, and played for medals in the other three events as well. At home on the AVP Tour in 2010, Rogers and Dalhausser competed in the final at each of the six tournaments they played, winning five.
Rogers finishes his career with 24 FIVB World Tour gold medals and 54 AVP Tour titles.
The AVP played a video tribute to Rogers, who is now the head beach volleyball coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, during the Manhattan Beach Open:
