Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Blanton, Nygaard come to LV on roll

AQUAFINA SHOOTOUT

Beach volleyball trail blazer and jet setter Dain Blanton hopes the nocturnal success he and teammate Jeff Nygaard have had gives them a boon this weekend at the Aquafina Shootout in Las Vegas.

Three months ago, they won the finale of the Hellas Open in Greece under the lights on the Island of Rhodes. The Shootout's title match Saturday should begin at a similar time.

"The final started at 9 p.m.," Blanton said. "Night matches are great. The Olympics will have a lot of night matches, too. And for Vegas, night time is perfect. It's when everything goes on. I'm looking forward to that."

Blanton, a 2000 Olympic gold medalist with Eric Fonoimoana in Australia, is a favorite to return to Greece for the Olympics next year.

He has been busy since breaking into the sport in 1994, after graduating from Pepperdine, and becoming the first black player to win a tour event three years later.

Blanton and Fonoimoana went against the grain of a dysfunctional Association of Volleyball Professionals to play in international events in the run-up to the Sydney Games, which earned them a suspension.

However, challenging some of the world's top players proved critical in prepping them for Sydney. Blanton doubted that he and Fonoimoana would have won gold had they not taken that route.

Their stand also led to the exposure of the AVP as a poorly run and mismanaged outfit. It eventually merged with Beach Volleyball America, thanks to the business sense and savvy of agent Leonard Armato, into a newly structured -- and healthy -- AVP Nissan Series.

And Blanton, 31, continues to take advantage of his skills on the sand, which have served as his passport.

Blanton marveled at the old city of Rhodes, with its medieval walls, moat and grand Castle of the Knights. He enjoyed shopping with other tourists, a rare treat because of his regimen.

At the Germany Grand Slam, the Brandenburg Gate and what remains of the Berlin Wall fascinate him, as do Porsches. It didn't work out on a Sunday in late June, but he plans to take a roadster on the autobahn in the near future.

The Switzerland Open is in Gstaad, and Blanton likes to frolic at the internationally renowned ski resort Glacier 3000 in nearby Pillon. He left summer weather at the base for snow at the peak, pleasing the snowboarders in his gondola.

His favorite event on earth, however, is the Austria Grand Slam, by Lake Worthersee in the Carinthian capital city of Klagenfurt

"Hands down, the best tournament in the world," Blanton said. "The way the promoter puts it on, he takes care of the athletes. And it's by the lake, clean air, great people ... it's where I'd love to get a victory."

Last week, Blanton fulfilled one of those goals when he and Nygaard won for the first time in Chicago.

"I just love it there," he said. "The people are awesome, and they really come out for the tournament. Their summer is so short, but there's a huge beach volleyball showing there."

Blanton nearly stayed for the Cubs' game Monday, but rain threatened and he didn't want to jeopardize a schedule that enabled him to spend two nights in his own bed at home in Laguna Beach, Calif.

What did you do this summer? Blanton spent it traveling from Greece to San Diego, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, France, New Jersey, Austria, back home for events in Manhattan Beach and Huntington Beach, then Chicago.

Winning in Rhodes and then San Diego earned Blanton and Nygaard more than $18,000 apiece over a seven-day span that stretched 6,000 miles. Then they were off to Switzerland, where they played 10 hours after deboarding a plane. They finished 41st.

Seeded 11th in Germany a few days later, they ended 25th.

"Maybe we didn't bring the intensity we needed to in those events," Blanton said.

They took third in France and fourth in Austria, winning a total of $17,500 each. They had top-10 finishes in New Jersey and Huntington Beach.

The world championships are in Rio de Janeiro in October, one of the eight international events that count for Olympic qualifying. It's early, but Blanton-Nygaard are atop that chart.

"It's been one of the busiest seasons, for sure," Blanton said. "Obviously, when I first saw it being played domestically, when I was 11 or 12, I thought you could make a living at it. Then, it became such an international thing.

"I've been able to go all around the world and see all sorts of places I wouldn't have thought I could."

He has won more than $575,000 in a career that has skyrocketed since that landmark initial victory at the $300,000 Hermosa Beach Grand Slam.

"It opened a ton of doors for me," said Blanton, who dabbles in modeling, acting and public speaking. He also hosts clinics, dubbed "Dain's Day at the Beach," to expose kids from urban areas of Los Angeles to his sport.

It isn't just a day at the beach, though, because Blanton also imparts the importance of education, setting and achieving goals, and overcoming racial obstacles.

"The first African-American to win ... you can only have so much impact, until you start to have success," he said. "That opened doors and gave me confidence. You just keep on knocking. The sport has given me a lot, and I try to give back.

"My goal now is to get back to Athens and make more magic happen."

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