Sponsored Content SportsEngine, a brand from NBC Sports Next is the leading provider of Sport Relationship Management (SRM) software, empowering athletes, parents, coaches, and sports organization administrators with tools and services to manage their organizations and sports lives. Read SportsEngine stories Athletes to Watch: April Ross & Alix Klineman July 29, 2020 | 1 minute, 12 seconds read Ross, the 2012 Olympic silver and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, has joined forces with the six-foot-five Klineman, a Stanford grad and recent convert from indoors, who is seven years her junior. Together they won the first FIVB tournament they entered in January 2018, and have only seen continued success since then, winning five AVP tournaments and finishing second at the 2019 World Championships, making them the clear favorite among the American teams contending for a Tokyo spot. The duo is coached by Ross’s 2012 Olympic partner, Jennifer Kessy. Visit Alix's Team USA profile Visit April's Team USA profile Athlete Info Alix Klineman April Ross Sport Beach Volleyball Beach Volleyball Height 6'5" 6'1" Date of Birth December 30, 1989 June 20, 1982 Hometown Manhattan Beach, CA Costa Mesa, CA Current Residence Manhattan Beach, CA Costa Mesa, CA Trivia Alix has a love of Brazil as she wants to learn Portuguese and live in the South American country for a few years. April's go-to snack before or after hitting the gym is the Smucker's Uncrustables. She's also become an official spokesperson for the peanut butter and jelly product. Grow your Olympic knowledge Tokyo Olympic Spotlight: Simone Biles Get to know Simone Biles, one of the most dominant Olympic athletes looking to add another Gold to her medal count in Tokyo. Athletes to Watch: Vashti Cunningham Learn more about high jumper Vashti Cunningham. Olympic Minute: Karen Chen Why is Karen Chen described as a "magical skater?" Find out in this Olympic minute video. Karate Explained Featuring Sakura Kokumai Join Rutledge Wood as he gets a crash-course lesson in Kata, one of the forms of Karate that will be in the Olympics for the first time Carissa Moore: Carrying surfers’ aloha spirit to the top of the podium | Wait For It Discover how Hawaii native Carissa Moore surfs her way to the top of the Olympic podium. Chantel Navarro Eyes Olympic Gold to Fulfill Family’s Legacy in Boxing Like a great knockout punch, Chantel Navarro never saw the ‘no’ coming. Welcome to the Athletes’ Village for the Paralympic Games! More than 4,400 Paralympians will call the Paralympic Village home for the next two weeks. Take a tour of the facilities! Olympians Honed Their Athleticism Playing Multiple Sports as Kids Learn which sports Olympic athletes played while they were growing up. Kai Sakakibara is riding the changing tide of life From trying to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 to re-learning to walk and talk after a life-changing injury, Australia's Kai Sakakibara has taken another big step forward: participating in the Paralympic Torch Relay. RowToTokyo: Kristine O’Brien Learn more about Olympic athlete Kristine O'Brien and her journey to get to where she is today. Para-Athlete Ezra French and His Quest for the LA28 Olympic Games Para-athletics athlete Ezra Frech shares what the LA28 games mean to him and what went into creating his LA28 'A' logo Santos, Biney will Lead U.S. Short Track Team at 2022 Winter Olympics After three days of racing, five women were named to the U.S. short track speed skating team for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. View More sports in this article Beach Volleyball tags in this article 2020 Summer Olympics Athletes to Watch Fan SportsEngine