Patriot Games

Beach Volleyball Gold Medalist Dain Blanton Inspires Students on Olympics Day at Canyon Elementary   

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

While talking to hundreds of children at Canyon Elementary School’s annual Olympics Day last Friday morning in Santa Monica Canyon, Dain Blanton recounted his own odyssey to the pinnacle of his sport.       

“The Olympics is more about the journey than what happens when you get there,” said Blanton, who shocked the world by winning the gold medal in beach volleyball with partner partner Eric Fonoimoana at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. ”I used to watch the Olympics on television when I was your age thinking maybe someday I can represent my hometown of Laguna Beach and my country. It’s about so much more than yourself and it was an honor to be part of that.”

Blanton, who lives in West LA and currently serves as head coach of the USC women’s beach volleyball team that captured back-to-back NCAA titles in 2021 and 2022, awarded posters to students who correctly answered questions about the Olympics, like where was the last Olympiad held and in what year? Answer: Tokyo, 2021; where and when will the next Summer Olympics be? Answer: Paris, France in 2024; and where will the 2028 Summer Olympics take place? Answer: Los Angeles.          

“I used to run the stairs across the street and thought if I ever have a child I’ll send them here,” said Blanton, who was previously the guest speaker at the school’s Olympics Day in 2014 and whose 4-year-old son Caid is a pre-kindergartner at Canyon and held up his father’s gold medal.

“Work hard, practice and never give up! You have to believe in yourself.  We were ranked ninth out of 24 teams in 2000 so we weren’t expected to win, but we beat teams from Germany, Norway, our fellow United States duo, a team from Portugal and lastly the No. 1-ranked team from Brazil in the final—a team we’d lost to four previous times. So getting on top of that podium and hearing our national anthem being played was special.”

Blanton won an NCAA indoor championship his sophomore year at Pepperdine in 1992 and went on to become the first African-American to capture a major pro beach volleyball event, the Hermosa Beach Grand Slam in 1997. He made the Olympic beach team a second time in 2004 in Athens, Greece, but he and Jeff Nygaard did not advance out of pool play.

After leading a chant of “USA! USA! USA!,” Blanton implored his audience: “When you’re running laps, don’t worry about who is on your right or left… work as hard as you can and let’s break our personal bests!”    

Past Olympians who have been invited to speak at Canyon Charter’s Olympics Day include paralympic sprinter Blake Leeper (via zoom) in 2020; swimmer Greg Louganis in 2019; figure skater Michelle Kwan in 2018; speed skater Apolo Ohno in 2017; boxer Sugar Ray Leonard in 2016; and sailor Barton Jahncke in 2013.   

The ceremonies began promptly at 8:30 a.m. with each class carrying the flag of one of 15 nations—Mexico, Canada, Sweden, France, Japan, Italy, South Korea, Australia, Greece, Argentina, Jamaica, Great Britain and the United States—through the rainbow arch and lining up on the blacktop in front of the library as John Williams’ Olympic fanfare blared.

Fundraising organizer Michele Vanger and emcee Jimmy Dean Freeman took turns firing up the kids and emphasizing the theme of the day “Running Canyon Strong.” With that, Emerson Hagen and Emma Lamb carried in the Olympic flag, Samantha and Mackenzie Sizemore sang the “Star-Spangled Banner,” Myles Millstein recited the Olympic Creed and fellow fifth-graders Sahar Gipsman and Sophia Namini lit the torch.

At 9:15 the horn blew and students donning Olympics Day t-shirts ran their hearts out around the grass field (grades K-2) and playground track (grades 3-5) while teachers and parents cheered them on.