Rio test event gives U.S. beach volleyball stars glimpse of 2016 Games

The U.S. team is getting a preview of the venue and conditions in Rio ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

What better way to preview the 2016 Rio Olympics than testing out Copacabana Beach? That’s exactly what the top four U.S. men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams are doing this weekend when they face off against Brazil in a team event in Rio de Janeiro through March 1. Here are some of the athletes’ first impressions of the Olympic city and the match action so far:

Emily Day

It’s amazing that we’re out here in 2015. We’re getting a glimpse of what the 2016 Olympics will be like and getting used to the environment, the sand, the fans, how hot it is. All of that is huge for us. Playing on the Copacabana sands, under the hot Rio sun with the loud Brazilian fans, is something you can’t get anywhere else. We can take those mental pictures and lessons learned back to the States and remember them when we’re training.

My partner, Jen Kessy, and I started practicing together in mid-January. It’s somewhat frustrating to be out there because our intentions with the ball are good, but they are not as crisp as we’d like them to be. We’re playing one game to 21, and if you aren’t ready, it’s tough. When you get done playing, our bodies are so used to playing and then you feel like you still have energy left — you want to keep going.

The coolest thing about being in Rio? I love that we are Team USA. We don’t get many opportunities where we can all root for one another. On the world tour, we are competing for ourselves as much as we are for Team USA because we’re all vying for Olympic spots. Here, there is no pressure with Olympic qualification; everyone is cheering for one another. That’s special, that’s not something we get all the time.

Read the rest of the article with ESPN.