Todd Rogers

The reigning Olympic gold medalist, Rogers arrives in London with partner Phil Dalhausser seeking to remain king of the beach with a second gold after a successful run through Beijing. The tandem is ranked second in the world and has failed to reach at least the semifinals on the FIVB Tour just four times in 42 events dating to 2007. Rogers has been steadily working his way back to full strength after undergoing knee surgery last August to repair a torn meniscus. His 77 tournament victories are the most of any active American male, and 64 have come with Dalhausser, with whom he has partnered since 2006 to become the most successful American beach volleyball tandem in history. The two hold the FIVB record for consecutive match wins (40) that was amassed during a seven-tournament win streak in 2010-11. Considered one of the best defensive beach volleyball players in the world and nicknamed “The Professor,” Rogers has been named the FIVB’s best defensive player four times, most recently in 2010, and also won the award five straight years from 2004-08 on the AVP Tour. He and Dalhausser had a three-year stranglehold atop the AVP Tour from 2007-09 and the pair also won FIVB team of the year honors in 2010, when they also were tour champion. He and Dalhausser won titles in Brasilia and Shanghai this year but also made a surprising first-round exit in Beijing, the first time they failed to reach the round of 16 in any tournament since 2007 in Austria.