Beach Volleyball Star Kerri Walsh Jennings to Compete in 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Olympic beach volleyball legend Kerri Walsh Jennings plans on making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics the final Games of her career.

The Associated Press (h/t USA Today) reported as much Thursday, noting she will turn 42 years old during those Olympics.

"I have no partner. I just came off two surgeries, and I know I'm going to win gold in Tokyo," she said of the challenges ahead and her plans, per the AP. "... It makes this one and this journey that much more meaningful."

According to the AP, the surgeries were on her right shoulder and left ankle. She only just started using the shoulder with her normal motion a mere three weeks ago.

Walsh Jennings said she probably would have retired in 2016 had she won the gold in Rio de Janeiro with partner April Ross. Rather, she settled for bronze and snapped her streak of three consecutive golds in the sand volleyball competition.

She captured gold in 2004 in Athens, 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London with partner Misty May-Treanor, and the duo quickly grew synonymous with the sport among American viewers who watched their Olympic dominance.

Walsh Jennings said she has narrowed her choices for a partner in Tokyo to two women and is motivated by her failure to win gold in Rio during her first Games since May-Treanor retired.

The motivation is clear now: retire on top with another gold medal in her final Olympics.