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This summer, Jace Pardon got the opportunity to compete in a world reknowned beach volleyball tournament that no other American had ever won before, the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. As Team USA, Jace Pardon and Karissa Cook were super excited and ready for the tournament. They had been coaching themselves all summer and training for this once in a lifetime event. They were also still on fire from their last win at the beach volleyball AVP championships in Austin, Texas.
But, their arrival to Lima posed a lot of challenges for them that many do not know about! First things first, they had to mentally check themselves into the winter season as soon as they stepped out of the plane. The weather was not very favorable and many of the other girls from South American countries had been training already in this type of weather for months. On top of it, Karissa and Jace both had a stomach bug. So how the heck could they take Gold?
Jace likes to call it pure grit and determination. Jace and Karissa had been playing so well these past couple months at previous AVP tournaments, taking pairs out of system and being disciplined, that even through adversity they knew that their great connection would break through all the walls that were up against them. After the Colombia win Karissa and Jace knew they were supposed to take home the gold. They couldn't just stop because of some stupid stomach bug!
In the third set after a grueling match with Argentina, Jace and Karissa pulled it off closing the set out 15 to 10 being the first Americans to ever win Gold for beach volleyball at the Pan American games. To see the official story from Team USA click here.
Want to get coached in beach volleyball by a Gold Medalist? Book a private with Jace and get 10% off your first coaching session with her. Click here to book.