At the Paris Olympics, the beach volleyball matches have given off the vibe of a luxurious party under the Eiffel Tower. The reason is the engagement of nature and architecture. In daylight, the sun has accompanied the Eiffel Tower with all its shine, whereas at night, everything has turned dreamy with the stars and the sparkling architecture. But today, things remained extra special as Team USA’s men’s beach volleyball team’s vital cog, Matthew Anderson, was in charge of reclaiming the glory.

The bronze award game had been set between Italy and the United States, and the stakes were high. The last time the USA men’s beach volleyball team earned an Olympic gold medal was in 2008. So Matthew had the responsibility of making arguably his last Olympic contest a fitting conclusion. Eventually, he did. Team USA grabbed the bronze medal in the contest this time. The final scoreline showed the squad in Stars and Stripes clinched the game by 6 points (81-75) after three sets, maintaining a full-steam advantage. Matthew Anderson led from the front.

He contributed 8 points, whereas his effective percentage of blocking touched the ceiling of 20.83. Today, he in fact matched the comments that he made after the semifinals against the global topper, Poland. On August 7, against Poland, the US men’s beach volleyball team fought till the end. Initially, the five-set game at South Paris Arena was tilted to World No. 1. But in the last two sets, the squad came back strongly, snatching the winning points. So, that hearty performance made that star share something valuable.

After finishing the game, he did not grieve over the chance to reach the final. Rather, the 37-year-old claimed, “A bronze medal is something that’s still really proud to have, still really proud to win. It’s a medal that you’re winning because you have to win that last match to get it, and I don’t want to leave with nothing.” Those lines indicated the failure he had faced in his third Olympic duty for Team USA.

Three years ago, the men’s team ended up in the 10th position, despite closing the Rio affair with a bronze medal. Therefore, when he said, “It’s better than nothing,” after reaching the semifinals this time, the desperation to leave Paris with a medal was seen. Today, Matthew Anderson shone accordingly, ending the 8-year-long wait to place the hand over an Olympic laurel. However, apart from this achievement, Matthew Anderson has several other accomplishments.

Matthew Anderson shows his vitality on the national squad

Matthew Anderson clarified that in his 16-year-long career, he had a distinct effort saved for the Paris Olympics. “We put a lot of effort into this three-year quick turnaround. A lot of us older, and it takes more preparation. We were primed. We were playing at a really high level, and it’s tough when you give it your all, and it’s just unfortunately not enough at the moment,” he mentioned. But in his long career, he has had a fairy tale.

Matthew Anderson has played in four different countries (Korea, Italy, China, and Türkiye) professionally and has been among the top scorers for the national team for the last 13 years. For this spectacular show, he was awarded the USAV Male Indoor Player of the Year a whopping six times. Not just in the summer games, but in the winter as well, he displayed his jugglery.

In Zenit Kazan, Russia, Matthew played for six consecutive seasons (2012–18). In the meantime, he continued to perform at the Olympics for Team USA. His involvement in the national pipeline dates back to 2004—quite a long journey Matthew Anderson has made in his fantastic career. Today, it has found another payback.