Back in the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, the U.S. men's beach volleyball duo of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser were absolutely unstoppable. Unfortunately at the 2012 games on London the defending gold medalists couldn't hang on to their mojo, getting knocked out of the Olympics on Friday by the men's team from Italy.
The American duo were among the favorites to win another gold medal, but Rogers and Dalhausser lost the first set 21-17 and fell behind Paolo Nicolai and Danielle Lupo 12-7 in the second, putting themselves behind the proverbial 8-ball early. Rogers and Dalhausser fought back valiently, eventually tying the match at 19-19 apiece, but lost the final two points when Rogers' final spike was blocked back into his face by Paolo Nicolai.
You can keep track of the U.S. medal count with SI's complete medal tracker here.
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