Some 1,300 days ago, the veteran and the newcomer cemented their fledgling partnership by touching sloshing water bottles together in a toast on a beach.

April Ross and Alix Klineman were an unlikely duo.

Though both had been raised in Southern California, Ross established herself as one of the world’s top beach volleyball players and captured two Olympic medals while the long-armed Klineman pursued the indoor game.

The beach brought them together and, on a steaming afternoon at Shiokaze Park on Friday, the American duo won a gold medal at the Summer Games.