PARIS (Nettavisen): When Anders Mol and Christian Sørum played their quarterfinal match on Monday, they were not facing just any Americans on the other side of the net. The Norwegian duo met Chase Budinger and Miles Evans.
The former is 36 years old and had a completely different career before becoming a beach volleyball player.
The American has several years in the NBA behind him – the top level of basketball in the USA. There, he played for teams including the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Indiana Pacers. He earned very good money there and could comfortably retire.
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According to The Guardian, there has been talk of an income of 18 million dollars throughout his basketball career. This amounts to nearly 200 million Norwegian kroner.
Impressed
Despite the money, he switched sports and continued as an athlete after his basketball career. This has taken him all the way to the Olympic Games in Paris. The Norwegian beach volleyball duo Mol and Sørum have been greatly impressed by this.
They defeated the Americans after two sets on Monday afternoon, but the opponents put up a good fight at times in Paris.
– It is very impressive to be able to switch sports like that. He played volleyball when he was younger and was very good at it, but being in the NBA and having good years there and then switching to beach volleyball and qualifying for the Olympics, that is impressive, says Christian Sørum to Nettavisen and adds:
– They have played some good matches this year and made it here, that’s cool.
Also read: Mol and Sørum advance to the quarterfinals at the Olympics: – Class difference
Out of the Olympics
Budinger played both basketball and volleyball throughout his childhood but chose to focus on the former when he started university. He explained to CNN that he always had a small dream of becoming a beach volleyball player after his basketball career. He retired from the latter sport in 2017.
According to the American, it is much easier on the body and is something he can continue to do into his 40s.
Despite the impressive achievement of reaching the Olympic Games in Paris, his Olympic journey is now over. Mol and Sørum, on the other hand, are set for the quarterfinals in the prestigious championship.