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Four years ago, after she and Holly McPeak won the bronze medal in women's beach volleyball at the Athens Olympics, there were few who would have thought that Elaine Youngs would be back for her third Olympics, in Beijing in 2008.

Not me, for sure.

I am now delighted to say I was completely wrong.

Delighted because Youngs and Nicole Branagh, her current partner, have qualified for the 2008 Games, along with Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. On the men's side, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers are the undisputed No. 1 American team, Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal the second qualifiers.

I am delighted for EY, as she is known on the AVP tour, because she is a professional who works diligently at her craft, ever seeking opportunities. Two years ago, she became only the third U.S. woman to surpass $1 million in career earnings.

Moreover, I have always found EY to be thoughtful, well-spoken and refreshingly candid. What's not to appreciate?

It's in that spirit that she told me not to feel bad about my 2004 prediction for 2008. "I probably would have said the same thing, too," she said with a laugh.

EY is now 38. She made the podium in Athens -- she and McPeak are the first U.S. women to win an Olympic medal on the beach -- after competing on the U.S. indoor volleyball team in 1996 in Atlanta.

"I think what it has taken for me to get back is a lot of determination, a lot of hard work, an unwavering belief in myself," she said.

And: "Having a young partner" -- Branagh is 29 -- "who is really hungry to get to her first Olympics and has what it takes to get there."

EY said, "I'm really proud of this accomplishment even before I get there. I think I'm going to be even prouder when I leave. My longevity in this sport, being at the top, winning events at 38 -- I'm really proud of it."

Intriguingly, swimmer Dara Torres' accomplishments, qualifying for her fifth Olympics at age 41, have generated wide-ranging suspicion -- albeit with no evidence of any misconduct whatsoever on Torres' part.

The parade of articles raising questions about how Torres is swimming so fast would seem to make even less sense when seen in this context: EY is just three years younger. No one is suspicious of EY. She gets tested, of course, like every elite athlete but said, "I would be really shocked if anyone ever questioned whether I was doping or not."

Walsh and May-Treanor head to Beijing as the clear gold-medal favorites. "My gosh, those girls, they're phenomenal," EY said.

At the same time, anyone who has ever met Elaine Youngs knows she isn't going to Beijing with the idea of playing for second or third.

"I hate to rain on the parade," she said, referring to Walsh and May-Treanor, but of a gold medal, and now she was talking about herself and Branagh, "We'd like to win, too."