By Jeremy Blacklow

BEIJING, China --

Kerri Walsh is never taking her wedding ring off again.

And she never had done so before, prior to it being lost in the sand during an early round of beach volleyball competition at the Beijing Olympics.

“It says ‘6 Feet Of Sunshine’ on it; it’s what he proposed to me in, and it’s just my favorite thing, you know,” Kerri told Billy.

So losing it was an understandably upsetting moment for the six-foot tall spiker.

“Who knew this was such a big story,” Kerri began, surprised. “I was blocking a ball, it was kind of a hack, I didn’t block it. And the ball hit my hand really hard and my wedding ring flew off,” she explained. “And it flew straight down in the sand. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I lost it.’ I’ve been wearing it for 4 and a half years; I’ve never taken it off, and the first time I played (these Olympics) it fell off.”

“When it flew off, you had to continue playing,” Billy began. “Did it upset you?”

“Yeah, it really did,” Kerri replied. “I didn’t realize I felt so naked without it. I’m a superstitious girl, unfortunately, and I just developed a new superstition when I didn’t have my wedding ring on.”

So after their match, a small army of volunteers began sifting through the sand, but came up empty. That’s when technology took over. NBC put on their super slow motion tapes, and they found the ring right where it fell.

“I raised the red alarm and people — red alert people — got together with those little — metal detectors and rakes, and they found it,” she explained.

“I met the guy who found it and we shook hands,” Kerri recounted. “We exchanged pins and I gave him a big hug.”

But, Kerri says that husband, Casey, was prepared to go out and buy her a new ring.

“You’re his 6 feet of sunshine,” Billy began asking. “How tall is he by the way, 5’2”?”

“No, he’s my 6 feet of sunshine,” she said. “We’re the exact same height.”

Somebody not the same height as Kerri – President George W. Bush, who visited Kerri and teammate Misty May-Treanor on Sunday at the beach volleyball court at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground.

“Clarify quickly for me what happened with the President of the United States,” Billy asked. “Did Misty offer him a slap on the rear or say, ‘Go ahead and give me one?’”

“It was unbelievable,” Kerri recounted. “He was just so sweet and he came out here and she (Misty) showed him her tattoos and he gave her a little slap on the back — not on the buns! He’s respectful. What an honor to have him at our practice. He’s a good man.”

And who can forget the show that Kerri and Misty put on after winning the gold in Athens? Could the duo repeat their celebratory antics again this year?

“We just spazzed out completely,” Kerri recounted from their 2004 victory. “For me it was a glorious moment and I wouldn’t have taken anything back. There was some heiny slapping and Misty and I were on the sand together. My goal is to do that again, absolutely!”

So how high are their hopes to repeat as gold medalists?

“We want a gold medal even more than I can begin to tell you Billy,” Kerri assured. “So, it’s coming!”

Copyright 2009 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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