London 2012

Bio

Dalhausser was born in Baden, Aargau, Switzerland on Janurary 26, 1980. He moved to the US as a child and eventually attended the University of Central Florida. Phil played on the club volleyball team and graduated with a degree in business.

Phil started playing beach volleyball in 2005 and enjoyed a break-out year in 2006 when he partnered with Todd Rodgers, an 11 years veteran of professional beach volleyball. Todd needed someone to help him get to the next level and believed Dalhausser had the potential to become the best player in the world. Since teaming up, they’ve won 27 of the 43 AVP events they entered, including eight of 10 in 2008. Internationally, the duo has won five of the 18 FIVB events they’ve entered. In 2007, Phil and Todd won the FIVB World Championships in Gstaad, Switzerland becoming the first U.S. beach team to win the gold medal at the tournament.

In the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, Phil and Todd won the gold medal match two sets to one against Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz Magalhães of Brazil. Newly crowned women’s beach volleyball champions and compatriots Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh were watching from the stands in the final. Dalhausser made nine blocks in the championship match, with five came in the deciding third set, putting the US up to a 9-1 lead and eventually winning it 15-4. Dalhausser was named tournament MVP. This made the United States the only country to win gold medals in men’s and women’s beach volleyball at the same Olympics.