If some athletes refuse to project themselves, to look too far ahead and to trust the famous “process”, Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng refuse to hide their real ambition: a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
The two Californians were neither disoriented nor scared by the scorching climate beating down on Montreal for the Elite16 tournament of the Beach Pro Tour.
After adventures at the airport and a hectic training schedule, Hughes and Cheng are finally ready to continue their momentum around the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit.
The duo is second in the world rankings. With one victory, two podiums and six top five finishes in six tournaments on the circuit, they are fully satisfied with their performance since the start of the campaign, but above all with the way in which they have acquired these precious points in this year of Olympic qualification. .
“Our goal is to win every tournament,” says Hughes.
But as Cheng quickly recalls, “our ultimate goal is a gold medal in Paris. Our goal right now is to build the foundation to be able to get there. The results come naturally thanks to that. »
To say that they have their minds completely in France, one year from the Games, would be wrong. In the meantime, they must qualify and continue to perform well in tournaments like this one in Montreal.
Hughes recalls, however, “that having a long-term goal helps us. »
Hughes and Cheng were reunited in 2022, after five years of hitting courts around the world with other partners.
The magic worked immediately. “Indeed, it is magic. I couldn’t tell where it came from,” Cheng points out.
In fact, the two partners had played together at the University of South California, one of the most renowned schools in beach volleyball, until 2017. They marked the history of the program with a record of 147 victories and four defeats in the burgundy and yellow uniform.
“The chemistry was there at that time and I think it just never went away. It was so nice to be able to come back together. We have in common the love of the game, the desire to give everything and a mutual respect,” continues the 27-year-old athlete.
For Hughes, their good relationship is mainly due to the passion she shares: “We love this sport so much. And we want to win so badly. When we jump on the field, we will do everything, at every point. »
The Americans hardly seem to realize how exceptional their performance is. After all, they are ranked second on the most competitive circuit in the world.
“I didn’t even know we were second!” Cheng admits.
For Hughes, “it’s just a number. Another statistic. »
For fear of creating unnecessary expectations, they never dwell on the ranking. “Coming into a tournament as the second seed does not guarantee us any success given that the level is so high. We want to focus more on our wins than the rankings it gives us,” said Hughes.
If they don’t care about statistics, which they leave to their coach, they care more about medals.
They remained unsatisfied at the last tournament, in Gstaad, following a defeat in the final, and they want to find the way to victory in Montreal. But not at all costs. Just because the casino is nearby doesn’t mean they want to go all in.
“We want a gold medal, of course, but we work at each tournament, especially for Paris. We have to take the victories and the defeats, like in Gstaad, and learn. That’s mostly it,” Hughes thinks.
This means that while waiting for the home run, they are thinking of the grand slam. The analogy goes beyond the framework of beach volleyball, but in any case, it ends in triumph on hot and rough sand.