Riley Salmon (born July 2, 1976, in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

) is a

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He graduated from Clear Creek High School in

League City League City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Galveston County, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 112,129. The city of League City has a small portion north of Clear Creek within Harris ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and played two years of varsity volleyball at

Pierce College Pierce College may refer to: * Pierce College (Washington) * Los Angeles Pierce College ** Pierce College station See also * Peirce College * Franklin Pierce University Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampsh ...

from 1994-96 before joining the men's national team in May 2001 as an outside hitter. He competed at the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

. At the 2008 Olympics, he helped Team USA win the gold medal. In July 2009, it was announced that Salmon faced a four-month suspension by the FIVB for violating anti-doping policy rules. Salmon was taking

Avapro Irbesartan, sold under the brand name Avapro among others, is a medication used to treat high blood pressure, heart failure, and diabetic kidney disease. It is a reasonable initial treatment for high blood pressure. It is taken by mouth. Versio ...

, a medication approved by the FIVB for

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

, however the drug's replacement Avalide contained a banned substance,

hydrochlorothiazide Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic medication often used to treat high blood pressure and swelling due to fluid build-up. Other uses include treating diabetes insipidus and renal tubular acidosis and to decrease the risk of kidney stones in tho ...

. The FIVB stated that it was not intentional doping. The suspension period began on May 27, 2009. In September 2009, it was announced that Salmon would play for Vivo/Minas, a big Brazilian team from Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais. He will play beside two Brazilian players who were also at the Olympics in 2008:

André Heller Franz André Heller (; born 22 March 1947 as Francis Charles Georges Jean André Heller-Hueart) is an Austrian artist, author, poet, singer, songwriter and actor. Biography Heller was born in Vienna into a wealthy Jewish family of sweets manufac ...

and

André Nascimento André Luiz da Silva Nascimento (born 4 March 1979) is a former Brazilian volleyball player who won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was born in São João de Meriti São João de Me ...

. Salmon is currently the head coach for the Concordia Irvine Eagles.

References

External links

* * 1976 births Living people American men's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in volleyball Sportspeople from Amarillo, Texas Los Angeles Pierce College people Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympiacos S.C. players Aris V.C. players PAOK V.C. players Outside hitters Doping cases in volleyball American volleyball coaches {{US-volleyball-bio-stub