Here are the womens world Beach volleyball rankings.
http://www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/Rankings/2007/Rank_WTwomen.asp

Her duo is ranked number 60 overall and is the fourth ranked japanese pair. Unless she can pair up with a higher ranked partner, her chances to get to the Olympics look pretty slim.

Their tournament earnings don't even register, if they have any earnings at all from the tour. To actually make a living from tour earnings, it looks like you need to be in the top 5 anyway.

If one's job is defined as the activity you do that earns you the money you need, then I would say Miwa-chan's main job is most definitely as a TV personality. I would also say that she is more successful and therefore better at the personality bix than the volleyball biz.

 

She looks good, naturally beautiful without a lot of makeup and artifical stuff.

 

Don't quit your night job.

 

Good for her! She's a role model for young Japanese girls to emphasize that anyone can be a pretty face on TV; being a sportswoman is a true accomplishment.
Beach volleyball builds quick descision making skills, strategic logic, and healthy living all in one! Miwa Asao is one of the greatest influences on young people that it is cool to pursue sports, rather than shopping and a 'bimio'life. Well stated!

 

So does "Who wants to be a millionaire", except for perhaps the healthy living part.

 

And I think that's probably why she's suddenly become the latest TV variety flavor of the month, and likely why she's not too thrilled about it.

In the end, she shouldn't really worry about it. If playing volleyball is what really makes her happy, and it seems like it is, then screw popular perceptions of what she should or shouldn't do.

 

She looks pretty tall, does anyone know how tall she is?

 

Maybe if she quit being a model and an 'idol' wannabe, less people might say such things about her.

 

...and equally mediocre at all three. The comparison is spot-on. I'm hoping out resident volleyball expert Sarge will back me up here (for once) when I say that Asao is much like Ai-chan in table tennis: media love her because of the "kawaii" factor but she's hardly Olympic material... can you honestly picture Asao and her no-name partner giving May-Treanor/Walsh a decent game? Puh-lease!



About 5'9". Not particularly tall in the world of international volleyball (Sarge will have plenty to say about this comment, too! LOL)

 

and so are her comments. that tiny bikini she wears while playin' beach volleyball has made her not only famous, but rich as well. has anyone else noticed that she the the only one who has corporate sponsorship emblazoned above her crotch, while other beach volleyball players only have their names imprinted?

although i find her oh so attractive, i find her demi moore/angelina jolie-like comments to be triflin' & pathetic. she knows what pays the rent, and it's not her skills on the beach volleyball court. her partner (nishibori takemi, who may be just as hot, if not hotter than asao)& her are ranked what in the worlds? ha ha ha ... even in japan they're ranked like 5th or 6th on the JBV circuit. personally, i wouldn't mind seein' more of nishibori. her humility's quite refreshin' compared to the antics of asao.

 

Being as how Walsh is 6 feet 3, and May-Treanor 5 foot 9, and Asano is 5 foot 8 and Nishibori is 5 foot 7, Walsh and May-Treanor ought to be able to pound the smaller Japanese girls into the sand every time. I'd like to see Walsh with 7 inches chopped off her lower extremities and May-Treanor with 2 inches chopped off her lower extremities to cut them down to size and then see how they do. Ha ha ha!
( LOL! )

 

Being as how Walsh and May-Treanor have been enjoying such a height advantage over their Japanese opponents, how about cutting them down to 5 foot 1 and 5 foot 5 respectively so that the Japanese girls have the same height advantage they had? Ha ha ha! I'd love to see that!

 

Just raise the floor on the Japanese team side of the net 9 inches to even the "playing field."
Brilliant! I'm a genius!
No, wait! This is beach volleyball! That might prove to be technically difficult, raising the beach 9 inches on one side of the net... shoot! Guess Miwa and Takemi will just have to make up for their height disadvantage with superior speed and skill!

 

Sarge, you disappoint me. Here I was thinking you knew your volleyball. Sand is the great equalizer, my friend! Ask any of the winningest female beach players of the last four decades: Nina Matthies (5-5), Kathy Gregory (5-7), Jackie Silva (5-8) or Holly McPeak (5-7). In fact, here's the height breakdown for every Croc's/AVP-ranked team as of this week (couldn't find the FIVB rankings on the website):

1. May-Treanor (5-10) Walsh (6-3)
2. Davis (5-11) Johnson-Jordan (5-10)
3. Wacholder (5-9) Youngs (6-0)
4. Branagh (6-1) McPeak (5-7)
5. Boss (6-0) Mason (5-10)
6. Dodd (5-11) Fontana (5-6)
7. Amaral (6-0) Minello (5-6)
8. More (6-1) Stonebarger (5-9)
9. K. Lindquist (5-6) T. Lindquist (5-7)

Obviously, height becomes much less of a factor on the beach, for a variety of reasons. So, Sarge, if you think May-Treanor/Walsh have an unfair advantage versus poor Asao, just imagine her and her non-"kawaii" partner against, say, the Lindquist sisters (if you even know who that is)... I repeat: puh-leaze!



Uh-huh. Something like that.

 

And here's my other two cents:



That would make Asao 6-5 and her partner 6-4. How does that "even the playing field" against Kerri and Misty, who are 6-3 and 5-9 respectively?! You're obsessed with height, man!?!