Palisades Man Will Be USA's Youngest Beach Volleyball Olympian In History

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — Miles Partain, a graduate of Palisades Charter High School and UCLA, will be the youngest-ever U.S. beach volleyball player in Olympics history when he competes at the Paris games this summer, UCLA announced.

Partain, 22, was named earlier this month to Team USA. He and his partner, Andy Benesh, earned an Olympic berth by tying for fourth in the men's Fédération Internationale de Volleyball Olympic Rankings within the qualification period, which ended June 9.

Partain grew up in the Palisades at played in his first organized beach volleyball tournament at Will Rogers State Beach at 10, when he partnered with his older brought, Marcus, according to his website.

He played indoor volleyball at Pali High, which has produced several gold-medal Olympians: Chris Marlowe, Ricci Luyties, Dave Saunders and Kent Steffes.

He spent three seasons at the school, where the team won three CIF City Section Championships. He also played for Pac6 volleyball club, winning the 2017 Holiday Classic, placing third in the 2018 Junior Nationals and fifth in the 2019 Junior Nationals.

During his sophomore year at Pali High, he accepted an offer to play on the UCLA indoor team after he graduated high school (which he did as valedictorian, as semester earlier). As a setter during his first season in 2022, he earned First Team All-American Honors as well as the All-Conference Player of the Year. The team had the nation's highest hitting percentage and reached the semifinals of the 2022 national championship, according to his website.

In 2023 he left the UCLA indoor team and graduated as part of an effort to pursue his dream of competing in the Olympics, he wrote.

Partain and Benesh began their Olympic run in April 2023, placing fifth in Itapema, fourth in Saquarema and earning gold in the FIVB Elite 16 Gstaad tournament, beating reigning Olympic champions Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, Norwegians known as the “Beachvolley Vikings."

Partain was the youngest USA player to win a gold medal in a major FIVB event, in Dubai in 2022, and the youngest USA player to win a gold in a NORCECA event, Jamaica 2019, according to his website.