Kiraly Injury Opens Door for Blanton, Fonoimoana

The expected loss of Karch Kiraly could be a gain for two beach volleyball locals.

Kiraly, who dislocated his right shoulder Wednesday and probably won’t be ready to play next month in the Olympics, could be replaced by Eric Fonoimoana or Dain Blanton.

If Kiraly and partner Adam Johnson maintain their lead over Blanton and Fonoimoana in the qualifying standings, Johnson will have to choose a new partner.

Assuming Kiraly won’t be able to play--he is undergoing an MRI on Monday--Johnson will choose from a two-person list supplied by the International Beach Commission, a panel of USA volleyball administrators and journalists.

The committee will select two players based on the next four U.S. finishers, which would be Blanton, a Laguna Beach High graduate; Fonoimoana, a Hermosa Beach resident; and former UCLA standouts Sinjin Smith and Carl Henkel.

Johnson must choose a replacement for Kiraly by Sept. 12, five days before men’s beach volleyball begins in Sydney, said John Kessel, Director of USA Beach Volleyball.

The point becomes moot if Blanton and Fonoimoana overtake Kiraly and Johnson by finishing fourth or better at the tournament in Belgium this weekend, the final event in which to earn qualifying points.

If Kiraly and Johnson maintain their lead in the points standings, Johnson will have a decision to make, unless Kiraly’s injury heals.

“I say we put him in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and do whatever we can to heal him,” Kessel said. “He’s earned the right” to go after a fourth Olympic gold medal.

Kevin Wong and Rob Heidger have clinched the top U.S. spot.

The Olympic-qualifying situation for women’s beach volleyball is also unclear.

Misty May, the former Newport Harbor High standout who turned 23 on July 30, and veteran Holly McPeak are trying to finish a convincing run that began this year.

The duo have accrued three first-place and three second-place finishes in only nine events, and they lead Liz Masakayan and Elaine Youngs, formerly of El Toro High, by a relatively slim 84 points for the second U.S. spot.

Tarzana’s Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan have clinched one of the two U.S. berths.

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May and McPeak won their second-round match, 15-1, over Heidi Byberg and Heidi Larsen of Norway at the FIVB event Friday in Dalian, China. Masakayan and Youngs won their first-round match and played their second-round match later Friday.