Two-time Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings said she won't let pinkeye affect her performance in the London Games.
"It's super minor," she said Tuesday at a meet-and-greet with reporters arranged by the FIVB, the sport's international governing body. "It just looks worse than it is."
Beach volleyball is a two-person sport, and most teammates hug or slap hands after every point like NBA players on the free throw line. Walsh and partner Misty May-Treanor discussed a change in the routine, but that lasted only a short while.
Instead, Walsh has skipped the traditional pre- and post-match handshakes with opponents, but not before explaining to them that she doesn't mean to be rude.
"That's a big deal here," she said. "I really respect these girls and my whole thing is to give high-fives. That's normal for me. I don't want them to think I'm big-leaguing them or being a jerk. I didn't want to infect them. I just didn't want to leave any room for error."
Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor have opened the London Games with victories in their first two matches in pool play -- a 16-game winning streak that stretches back to Athens. They are virtually assured of a spot in the knockout round regardless of what happens in Wednesday night's match against Austrian sisters Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger.
To watch Walsh-Jennings/ May-Treanor play Australia's Schwaiger sisters click here.
