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Bountiful's Jake Gibb won his first beach volleyball match of the Olympics today.
He's a home-grown product leaping up the world beach volleyball scene. Gibb did what many people would dream about doing, but maybe not have the guts to do. He bolted his hometown for the sand of Southern California several years ago, and it could turn out to be a golden decision.
When asked, "If you were to really take him (your competitor), well, not take him out of the game, but make him less of a threat?" Gibb said, "Maybe a pipe to the leg would help." That's the glib Jake Gibb.
That day two weeks ago in Southern California changed everything. Gibb and beach volleyball partner Sean Rosenthal finally beat the world's number one team, fellow Americans Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, for the first time in 10 meetings.
"More than anything it was just a confidence booster coming into the Olympics," he said.
Jake's competitive spirit started early. With five sisters and five brothers, including twin Coleman, it was not beach volleyball, but certainly a team of sorts. Jake's first dream was to play hoops, until he didn't make the Bountiful High School team.
"That was my love, you know, basketball. That's all I wanted to do. I tried out and I was cut, and it crushed me. It was a tough thing," he said.
After returning from his mission, Jake started tearing up the Bountiful backyard circuit.
"We had the neighbors behind us, the Rasmussens, that just hated us. The ball would bounce over the fence. We'd be hopping their fence, teasing their dog. But yeah, we played in my backyard on grass with a droopy net and garden hose for lines. That's how we started out," he explained.
But the next big leap came when Jake and wife Jane up and left Utah to chase a career on the beaches of Southern California.
"I had this little itch, right around here, and wanted to go out and pursue this crazy beach volleyball dream," he said.
Now, he's a top medal threat in Beijing.
