Mike Whitmarsh

Mike Whitmarsh ( born May 18, 1962 in San Diego, California, † February 17, 2009 in Solana Beach, California ) was an American professional basketball and beach volleyball players.

Whitmarsh first played college basketball at the University of San Diego, where he also studied political science and economics. In 1984, he was able to lead his basketball team for the first West Coast Conference title. In 1985, he graduated in political sciences with a bachelor's degree and also finished his studies in business administration successfully. Already in 1984, he was drafted in the fifth round by the Portland Trail Blazers and played for them from now on in the NBA, the North American professional basketball league. He then moved briefly to the Minnesota Timberwolves before he went to basketball games to Germany for three years, where he among other things, Alba Berlin played ( season 1990 /91).

In parallel, the 2.01 m wide Whitmarsh 1986, started to play volleyball and beach volleyball finally changed in 1990, where he was elected by the AVP, a California-based association for professional beach volleyball, "Rookie of the Year." In the following years he was able to establish itself on the AVP Tour in the world rankings. Inglorious highlight was a three-month doping ban for unlawful taking of the medication pseudoephedrine uttered the World Federation in October 1995 against him and his compatriot Scott Friederichsen.

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta Whitmarsh won with Michael Dodd behind their U.S. compatriots Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes the silver medal in beach volleyball. Likewise, he could win a silver medal in the beach volleyball world championships in 1997 in Los Angeles the following year. He was awarded as Best tight end in 2002. With the end of the 2004 season, Whitmarsh ended his beach volleyball career in relatively advanced age of 41 years. In his career, which was unusually long with 15 years despite the relatively late start, he could import 28 titles and prize money of more than $ 1.6 million. He still belonged last of the top ten highest-earning beach volleyball player of all time.

To celebrate such success in two very different sports such as basketball and volleyball, is abnormally world-class, especially since Whitmarsh had started very late with the beach volleyball games.

Since end of his career he worked as a real estate broker in California.

On 17 February 2009 he was found dead in the garage of a house in Solana Beach, owned by a friend with whom he stayed occasionally. According to the findings of the coroner it was suicide by inhaling exhaust gases to carbon monoxide. Whitmarsh was married and had two daughters. He lived with his family near San Diego.