Based on what they consider their hometown, 175 of the nearly 600 Olympic athletes who will be competing for the United States after tomorrow’s opening ceremonies conclude in Beijing, China consider California home. More than a handful of these dedicated performers who are aiming for a trip to the podium have South Bay ties, including three former Olympic gold medalists.

Leading the local lineup are members of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) who qualified for three of eight spots on the men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams. Kerri Walsh (Hermosa Beach) returns to defend her gold medal, while Nicole Branagh (Torrance) and Sean Rosenthal (Manhattan Beach) will be making their inaugural journeys to Olympic competition.

Beach volleyball competition begins today. The men’s medal matches will be held Thursday, Aug. 21 and the women’s bronze and gold medal matches on Friday, Aug. 22. The stiffest competition for the American women should come from China, Brazil and Germany. The toughest foes for the American men should come from the two Brazilian teams.

Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach), a member of the 2004 gold-medal winning women’s soccer team, also returns to the Olympics as does tennis star Lindsay Davenport (Palos Verdes), who will be competing in her third Olympics games. Davenport won gold in tennis singles at the 1996 games.

The women’s soccer team began its defense of the gold medal yesterday when it faced Norway. Competition continues until the bronze and gold medal matches on Thursday, Aug. 21. The team’s stiffest competition should come from Germany and Brazil.

Tennis competition begins tomorrow with the women’s singles medal matches scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 16. If Davenport wins her second gold medal, she will likely have to beat fellow American Venus Williams or Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

Starting in goal for the men’s water polo team will be Merrill Moses (Rancho Palos Verdes), making his first appearance after failing to make the final roster cut in 2004. His veteran team begins its quest for a medal Saturday against China. Medal matches will be played on Sunday, Aug. 24. Serbia, Croatia and Spain figure to give the U.S. squad its fiercest competition.

Representing the United States in the air pistol competition will be Redondo Beach native and Riverside Sheriff’s Department lieutenant Benda Shinn.

With the exception of Montana, North Dakota and Virginia, every state in the union will be represented at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad with 28 athletes having been born in other countries.

Every four years the Olympics produce heroes and tales of remarkable athletic achievement that will be forever associated with the games in each particular city Jesse Owens in Berlin, John Carlos and Tommy Smith in Mexico City, Carl Lewis in Los Angeles.

When athletic competition begins Saturday, the media darlings will most likely being clad in swim wear. Along with a strong swimming team that includes superstar Michael Phelps, who will be attempting to win eight gold medals in Beijing, will be Walsh and her partner Misty May-Treanor. They are the world’s most dominant team in beach volleyball. The Golden Girls look to add to their winning streak record of 101 consecutive matches on their way to the podium.

It also doesn’t hurt that NBC, which airs numerous AVP championship matches throughout the summer, will be broadcasting this year’s Olympic Games. NBC Universal plans to air more than 212 hours of coverage per day on its seven networks (NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Telemundo and Universal HD), giving viewers ample opportunity to watch the following local athletes compete with the best in the world.

Kerri Walsh ‘ Beach Volleyball
The imposing 6-foot-3 is one of the best players the sport has ever known. She won the AVP MVP award in 2003 and 2004. In 2007 she was named as the Federation Internationale de Volleyball’s (FIVB) Best Hitter, Best Blocker and Sportsperson for the third consecutive year while also being selected as Best Offensive and Most Outstanding Player.

Walsh will celebrate her 30th birthday in Beijing. She was raised in Santa Clara, but now lives in Hermosa Beach with her husband Casey Jennings, one of the AVP’s top men’s players. Jennings and partner Matt Fuerbringer (Redondo Beach) narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympics as the second men’s team, falling short to Sean Rosenthal (Manhattan Beach) and Jake Gibb.

Walsh began her highly successful partnership with Misty May-Treanor in 2001 and the pair continues to improve. The have won three consecutive SWATCH-FIVB World Championships, beginning in 2003 in Rio de Janeiro, repeating in Berlin in 2005 and in Gstaad in 2007

Walsh and May-Treanor acquired the services of a new coach this year in hopes of reaching a yet higher level of play. Troy Tanner, who won Olympic gold in 1988 as a member of the men’s indoor team, was their choice and it has been beneficial by all accounts.

Since Troy has been coaching us, I think we’ve cleaned up our game, Walsh said. Troy stresses fundamentals. We’re making fewer unforced errors and our ball control is a lot better. We’ve also made technical changes to our platform which has really paid off.

After winning Olympic gold in Athens in 2004, Walsh and May-Treanor became known to those outside the beach volleyball circuit and have served as ambassadors of the sport they feel so passionately about. They enter this year’s Olympic Games as favorites to repeat as gold-medal winners.

I can’t imagine being any more excited that I am right now, Walsh said after a quick, early-round win at the Long Beach Open two weeks ago. Athens was so special, although it was really stressful. Right now, the stress hasn’t arrived yet. I love playing volleyball, it’s so much fun. We’re so focused and it feels really good right now.

Misty and I are feeling good. It’s been a long season with a lot of travel, so we have these knick-knacky things here and there, but we have the best people possible taking care of us.

While she knows her team is the odds-on favorite to win gold in Beijing, Walsh expects stiff competition, including the other American team of Nicole Branagh (Torrance) and Elaine Youngs.

EY and Nicole are tremendous competitors and have a great chance to medal, Walsh said. Both of the teams from Brazil are tough, China has two very good teams and Germany has a good team.

Walsh was anxious to get to Beijing, wanting to get acclimated, visit the Great Wall and Chaoyang Park where the beach volleyball competition will be held along with getting used to the air. Smog is a major problem in the area and Walsh said the United States’ athletes have been issued carbon-filter masks as a precautionary measure.

Walsh and May-Treanor earned enough points to qualify for this year’s Olympic Games after the 2007 season, but Walsh really began to feel they were on the road to Beijing on April 9.

That’s when Walsh was selected to carry the Olympic Torch as it made its way through the streets of San Francisco. She teamed with Richard Doran, a 57-year-old retired FDNY firefighter to honor the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11.

It was overwhelming to be able to carry the Olympic Torch, Walsh said. It’s such an iconic thing and to be in my hometown of the Bay area with my parents there was very special. I ran with a 9/11 firefighter and with every step we took, it commemorated one of the fallen fighters. It was just so poignant and so inspiring. The support of the crowd was overwhelming and that certainly prepared me for these months leading up to the games.

Beijing will be Walsh’s third Olympic competition, her first coming in 2000 when she was a right side hitter on the indoor team that finished fourth. Previously she enjoyed a stellar collegiate career at Stanford where she became only the second player in NCAA history to be selected as a First-Team All-American all four seasons.

Shannon Boxx ‘ Women’s soccer
The Redondo Beach resident and South Bay native is a vital cog in the women’s soccer machine that will defend its gold medal in Beijing.

Boxx, who plays as a defensive midfielder, was a member of the gold medal winning team at Athens and is looking forward to another Olympic competition. She started all six games at the 2004 Olympics, scoring the opening goal of the tournament against Greece and recording the game-winning assist against Japan in the quarterfinal match.

For me the experience of the Olympics, regardless of how many times I am at one, is a chance of a lifetime and to be a part of it is a very special honor, Boxx said in between training sessions in Beijing. The only difference between Beijing and Athens would be that I am more experienced player and have gone through some big events.

Defending the gold medal will be a formidable task with Germany and Brazil bringing strong teams to the competition. The U.S. team will have the added burden of playing without its leading scorer, Abby Wambach, who broke her tibia and fibula in her left leg while playing against Brazil in the team’s final tune-up match in San Diego three weeks ago.

Abby means a lot to this team as well as the other two (Leslie Osborne and Catherine Whitehill) we have lost this year, Boxx said. It’s heartbreaking to not have them here with us. We will miss Abby’s leadership and intensity and it will be the responsibility of all of us to step up our game.

A durable player, Boxx started every game she played for the national team since her debut in 2003 before suffering hip and knee surgeries in 2006. When U.S. stars Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett retired, recognition began to fall Boxx’s way. In 2005, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) selected Boxx as a finalist for Women’s Player of the Year.

When Boxx won the gold medal in 2004, it wasn’t the first for the family. Shannon’s sister Gillian, now a firefighter in San Jose, was a member of the 1996 women’s softball team that captured the gold medal in Atlanta, making the two the first sisters in Olympic history to win gold in two different sports. Not only did Shannon emulate her sister by reaching the top of the Olympic podium, she may eventually pursue the same career when her playing days are over, possibly after Shannon’s third Olympic competition in 2012.

Right now, I am feeling great, Boxx said. I am in the best shape I have ever been and I still have the passion to play. As long as that continues I can see myself playing for a lot longer.

Although I am really enjoying what I’m doing right now, I know it has to end at some point. I am very interested in following in my sisters footsteps as a firefighter. They have a team and family aspect to their job that is not unlike my job now and to provide an important service to my community would be very fulfilling.

Boxx began her career in AYSO and won two regional championships in seven years with the Torrance United Waves club team, being named MVP of both tournaments. She played soccer, volleyball, softball and basketball at South High in Torrance where she was named to the Parade High School All-American soccer team in 1995 before helping the University of Notre Dame win its only NCAA women’s soccer title later that year. She shares the career record of 101 games played at Notre Dame.

Despite a playing career that involves a demanding travel schedule, Boxx stays involved with the next generation of soccer players by hosting the Shannon Boxx Soccer Academy each summer in Torrance.

I think the sport of soccer is continuing to grow in the U.S., Boxx said. With the men’s league (MLS) continuing to expand and the new women’s league (WPS) starting up next year, girls and boys can strive for a career as a professional soccer player.

Sean Rosenthal ‘ Beach Volleyball
Raised in Redondo Beach, 28-year-old Sean Rosenthal has overcome a troubled childhood that prevented him from playing organized sports for much of his youth. His love of the beach led him to beach volleyball, where he has competed on the AVP circuit since 1997 when he was 17 years old.

At the age of 18, Rosenthal injured his right shoulder but continued to compete, using the left side of body to compensate. The injury proved beneficial, making Rosenthal equally effective hitting the ball from either side, preventing the opposition from focusing on one area.

This will be the first Olympic competition for Rosenthal and his partner Jake Gibb, who form a rare team where neither player has played indoor volleyball on the collegiate level, both hoping their rags-to-riches story ends with a golden fairy tale ending.

The duo goes to Beijing on a high note, having upset the world’s top-ranked men’s team and their AVP nemesis Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers at the Long Beach Open. It was their first victory over the world champions in 10 finals.

Rosenthal admits that playing in the Olympics had not been a dream of his, but did become a goal during the past few seasons.

It (playing in the Olympics) didn’t cross my mind right out of high school, but pretty soon after I was playing on the tour for awhile, I began to think about it, Rosenthal said. It was an Olympic sport in 1996, but really when I started playing with Jake in 2005, that’s when we set our goal to make the Olympics and now we’re there. We just need to play our game and worry about our side of the net and take care of business.

With a win over the top-ranked team under their belt and having defeated some of the world best teams in international competition, Rosenthal and Gibb figure to be in contention to medal.

Jake and Rosie are kind of the X Factor in all this because they have had more success against (defending gold medalists) Ricardo and Emanuel than anyone else in the world, AVP announcer Chris Geeter McGee said They’ve beaten the Brazilian teams, the Chinese, and have won gold medals in Europe. They’ve just been a little inconsistent. If they get hot and Jake gets back to how he played in 2005, and with Rosie being the most confident, all-around player, they’re a team that when they get to Beijing they’ll be ready to go and have just as good of chance as anyone else.

Rosenthal will bring a little of Hermosa Beach with him when he competes in China. Along with his roommate, four members of Rosie’s Raiders, Rosenthal’s vocal band of supporters based at 8th Street in Hermosa, plan to make the trip to Beijing to cheer on their local hero.

Just one of three men on the AVP tour to be ranked in the top 10 in points each of the last five seasons, Rosenthal was named the AVP’s Best Defensive Player in 2007 and Best Server in 2002.

After a strong international season in 2006 where Rosenthal and Gibb earned one win and two second place finishes, the FIVB selected Rosenthal as Top Rookie that year.

Nicole Branagh ‘ Beach Volleyball
Raised in Orinda, Branagh now lives in Torrance and will be competing in her first Olympic games, partnering with Elaine Youngs, who won the bronze medal in 2004.

One of the fastest rising stars in the AVP Crocs Tour, the 6-foot-1, 29-year-old Branagh has become a dominant force at the net and one of the top servers in the game.

We are thrilled to be going to Beijing, Branagh said We’re very excited and we feel that we have a great opportunity in front of us to medal. We’re feeling great physically and mentally we’re more focused than we’ve ever been.

Geeter McGee concurs. I think EY and Nicole are one team that definitely has a chance to get to that gold-medal match. Because they’re so physical and they have played Kerri (Walsh) and Misty (May-Treanor) the toughest, they know them the best and they’re the best serving team in the world. The improvement of Nicole and the ability EY has had over the last couple of years to play in the moment is the big key for them.

Branagh is well aware of how tough the road to the podium will be and would like nothing more than to face the familiar foes of Walsh and May Treanor in the gold-medal match.

China is also strong and Brazil is always very good, Branagh said. There’s a good German team and Australia as well. It’s the Olympics so everyone is going to be there trying to get on the podium and playing their best game, so whoever gets on that medal stand is going to work very hard to get there.

Branagh’s rapid improvement on the sand comes after an indoor career where she was a two-time second-team All-American at the University of Minnesota, being named the 2000 co-Player of the Year in the Big Ten Conference. At the conclusion of her indoor collegiate career, Branagh had recorded 2,379 kills, the most in Big Ten history and ranked third in career digs in school history.

She was a member of the U.S. National Team from 2001-2003, and played for the bronze-medal team in the Pan-Am Games in 2003 before playing professionally in Japan and Italy.

Since her switch to beach volleyball, Branagh has been seeded in the AVP main draw ever since her first main draw competition at Belmar in 2004 where she finished 13th.

The following year, Branagh was named AVP Rookie of the Year and earned Most Improved Player honors in 2006 when she reached nine semifinals while teaming with 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist Holly McPeak before partnering with Youngs later in the season

I had dreamed of playing in the Olympics on the indoor team, Branagh recalled. When I first came to the beach game, I was just trying to do something different and stay in shape. Once I started playing more and more, I fell in love with it. I started playing with Holly and we played internationally and in 2006, I really started thinking ‘OK, beach Olympics, let’s go for it and see what doors keep opening’ and here we are.

I was just coming out to the beach when Holly asked me to play and she taught me so many things like how to think like a top player and how to train. Because she’s been at the top for so long, she knows what it takes to get there so I just tried to soak up everything I could from her. I am very thankful for that experience and for her giving me a chance.

Playing with EY has been great. This is her third Olympics and she has so much experience and knowledge. I’m so blessed, and (coach) Liz Masakayan, to have been associated with those three people in my first four years of playing beach volleyball has been like a dream. You couldn’t ask for anything better. It’s been amazing. I’m so lucky.

Merrill Moses ‘ Men’s Water Polo
A football star in middle school, Moses was tired of sweating at summer practices in pads, so he walked over to the pool on the Peninsula High School campus and joined the water polo team.

Moses didn’t begin playing goalie until his sophomore year in high school when he won the starting job and, as the last line of defense, has not looked back since. The Rancho Palos Verdes resident was a walk-on player at Pepperdine University where he won the starting job by beating out a senior and a freshman who was on scholarship.

In 1997, Pepperdine won the national championship and Moses being named MVP of the title match. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound goalie earned first-team All-American honors as well as academic achievement awards in 1997 and 1998.

Moses was the last player cut from the 2004 Olympic team and felt his career, and Olympic hopes, were over. But a year and a half later, Moses received a phone call from Dr. Terry Schroeder who had just been named assistant coach of Team USA, asking Moses to return to the pool and play goalie for the team.

It didn’t take much to influence me to come back and play because I love this game and always will. Moses said. It was tough being one of the last guys cut from the 2004 team and I thought that I would never play again. But when Dr. Schroeder called me and told me that he was appointed assistant coach and Ricardo Azevedo was the head coach and they wanted me to be their goalkeeper, I left work that day and got my Speedo on the next day and started training, I knew that I had the right coaching staff that would bring out the best in my performance. Now Dr. Schroeder is the head coach and things are clicking with our team very well. I hope everyone at home is ready for us to bring home a medal. It is Showtime.

While many consider Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Spain as the top contenders in water polo, Moses is confident the veteran U.S. team will be in the medal hunt after the team finished seventh in Athens.

There is no doubt in my mind that we will medal, Moses said This team is a different team compared to the past teams. We have great team chemistry and everyone on the team is very close, we know what each other is thinking at all times. We showed that with our performance in Italy last month when we got second at World League Super finals We lost to Serbia 7- 4 in the finals. Going into the fourth period, we were only down 4- 3 and we missed two penalty shots. If those went in, I think it would have been a different game. I believe in our bracket Serbia will be our toughest competitor, but we know that we can beat them.

Seven players on the men’s team go to Beijing with Olympic experience, but Moses considers himself just as experienced.

Yes, this is the first Olympics for me, but I am no rookie when it comes to international experience, Moses said. I think our whole team is a veteran team, for the most part half of our team plays professionally and is playing water polo year round. I love being the last line of defense and love having that pressure on me. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be a good goalkeeper. I’m looking forward to the Olympics with great anticipation because I know that I am ready to perform at my highest level and have trained properly.

Lindsay Davenport - Tennis
The Palos Verdes native and Chadwick grad will be making her third Olympic appearance. She is scheduled to compete in the singles competition and the doubles with Liezel Huber (a new U.S. citizen who played for South Africa in the 2000 Olympics). The pair will join Serena and Venus Williams as the two doubles teams representing the United States.

Davenport, 32, competed in her first professional tournament in 1993 at the age of 16, rapidly improving to win the gold medal in singles at the 1996 Olympics.

“It (winning the gold medal) was the first big thing I won and a huge honor, Davenport said. Being Olympic champion is kind of bigger than tennis.

The former top-ranked women’s player has won 55 singles titles and 37 doubles championships in her career, including the 1998 U.S. Open, Wimbledon in 1999 and the 2000 Australian Open. A foot injury prevented her from competing in the 2000 Olympics, the same year she was awarded an ESPY for Outstanding Women’s Tennis Performer.

After an 11 month hiatus to have her first child, Davenport returned to the game in September, 2007, but a right knee injury forced her to withdraw from the second round at this year’s Wimbledon competition and the East West Bank Classic held recently at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

After my son was born I had a year to get ready for Beijing, Davenport said. I guess that was the driving force. The Olympics have a great pull. To go back to the Olympics as a mother and a wife and have my whole family there would be so amazingly different than the 12 years before in Atlanta. I was lucky enough to be in Atlanta and on the Sydney team (in 2000) but I turned down the chance to go to Athens in 2004, which was a decision that sometimes I regret.

The 6-foot-2 veteran has a power game equally effective on grass and hard courts and has stated that her knee is on the mend and will be ready for the strong international field. Her father, Winthrop Wink Davenport was a member of the U.S. Olympics volleyball team in 1968.

Davenport will be competing in one of the original nine Olympic sports played at Athens in 1896. Tennis was dropped in 1924, but revived as a demonstration sport at the 1984 Olympic in Los Angeles, becoming a full medal sport in 1988.

Brenda Shinn - Shooting
Born in Redondo Beach in 1962, Brenda Shinn is making her first Olympic appearance, competing in the air pistol division. Currently a Lieutenant with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Shinn learned to shoot in the Orange County Sheriff’s Police Explorer Program in 1979, winning the National Police Explorer Pistol Match in 1980 which earned her an invitation to the Olympic Training Center that year.

Shinn’s competitive shooting career was put on hold after the birth of her son and after a nearly 20 year absence from the sport, she returned to shooting in 2006.

After living in Manhattan Beach in her early years, Shinn moved to Orange County but returned to attend Mira Costa High School where she professes to have been a band geek playing the saxophone. ER