Hawaii’s Tri Bourne improves to 2-0 in beach volleyball in Tokyo Olympics
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tri Bourne, of the United States, returns a shot during a men’s beach volleyball match against Switzerland at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, in Tokyo, Japan.
TOKYO >> New U.S. beach volleyball partners Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne will have some more time at the Olympics to get to know one another.
The Americans had never played together before their first match in Tokyo on Sunday. They beat Switzerland 21-19, 23-21 on Wednesday to improve to 2-0 in the round-robin. They have one more match remaining, against Qatar on Friday night.
Gibb qualified for the Tokyo Games with Taylor Crabb as his partner. But Crabb, a Punahou alumnus, tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew, allowing Bourne, who attended Academy of the Pacific, to replace him. Bourne was on the third-place U.S. team in the qualifying race; each country is limited to a maximum of two spots.
Two wins should be enough to put the Americans in the knockout round. At worst, it would put leave them in a three-way tie for first and give them a tiebreaker match.
