Russell Mark Tanner is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 volleyball

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.The complete rules are extensive...

 player. Tanner grew up playing beach volleyball in Northern California with his father, Mark Tanner. Tanner's uncle, Troy Tanner

Troy Tanner

Troy Richard Tanner where he attended Los Altos High School is a former All American volleyball player, who was a member of the United States men's national volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Tanner comes from an athletic family...

, is an Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 gold medalist. Tanner was a Junior Olympic All-American, high school and league MVP, and an all-state selection out of high school. Tanner played volleyball at Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 in Provo, Utah

Provo, Utah

Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...

 from 1999-2001. He graduated with a degree in English.

Beach Volleyball Record

In 1994, Tanner became the youngest player in beach volleyball history to earn a AAA rating, surpassing the long standing record previously held by beach volleyball player Mike Dodd

Mike Dodd

Michael Dodd is a well-known retired professional beach volleyball player from the United States who attended San Diego State University. With his partner Mike Whitmarsh he won the silver medal in the men's inaugural beach volleyball tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics...

. The record stood for 12 years until it was eclipsed by Hawk Hatcher in 2007.