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Tuesday, September 26
Blanton, Fonoimoana refused to wilt
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Two Olympics, two men's beach
volleyball gold medals for the United States.
|  | | Dain Blanton celebrates the U.S. victory in beach volleyball. |
Dain Blanton and Eric Fonoimoana upset third-seeded Ze Marco de
Melo and Ricardo Santos of Brazil 12-11, 12-9 on Tuesday to make it
a sweep of the men's gold both times beach volleyball has been
played at the games.
They matched the 1996 feat of Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes in
Atlanta and restored a bit of the shine to the U.S. image after
both women's teams -- considered medal contenders -- failed to reach
the semifinals
"It's unbelievable," Blanton said of the victory. "The only
way we played that well was to play against a team that good.
"This is the most amazing moment of my life."
With U.S. supporters waving flags, Blanton and Fonoimoana
received their medals from IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch,
then clasped hands on the podium and waved to the crowd.
Fonoimoana softly mouthed the words to the U.S. anthem, and
afterward they draped themselves in U.S. flags while slowly walking
the perimeter of the court to shake hands with fans.
Their victory in the rain Tuesday brought an explosion of cheers
at the sold-out Bondi Beach stadium, with fans chanting "U-S-A"
as the Americans collapsed in each other's arms.
It was a bitter defeat for the Brazilians, who won three medals -- the silver and bronze in women's and the men's silver -- but
failed to grab the top prize in a sport they have dominated in
recent years.
The Americans came from behind to beat De Melo and Santos in the
first set. Then they forged a 4-1 lead in the second game and never
trailed despite desperate comeback efforts by the Brazilians in a
match that featured frantic rallies, with bodies diving in the wet
sand.
With De Melo waving for the crowd to cheer even louder, he and
Santos fought back to 10-9 before Fonoimoana's shot went off Santos
for a point, setting up Blanton to serve for the gold.
The crowd was on its feet as Blanton served to De Melo, who
passed to Santos and back to De Melo for a spike. Fonoimoana rose
to block it back, and the Americans had the decisive point.
In the bronze medal game, Germany's Jorg Ahmann and Axel Hager
completed an unlikely run to an Olympic medal, defeating Luis Maia
and Joao Brenha of Portugal 12-9, 12-6.
Rain and low, gray clouds forced spectators to wear raincoats,
but the cheering remained loud and steady.
After a stirring comeback victory in the semifinal over Maia and
Brenha, Blanton and Fonoimoana pulled off a similar recovery in the
first game of the final.
Strong net play by Santos, with several blocks for kills, gave
the Brazilians leads of 4-1, 8-6 and 11-8, but the Americans kept
pulling even.
With lightning reflexes, Blanton reached Santos' smash, sending
the ball back too deep for the Brazilians to get and making the
score 11-9. Fonoimoana then blocked De Melo at the net as the Americans closed to one. The serve changed sides before Santos failed
to handle Fonoimoana's serve to even the score at 11, bringing an
eruption of noise from the chanting, dancing U.S. fans.
De Melo then fired a spike wide, giving the Americans a 12-11
victory and setting off another burst of cheering.
Ahmann and Hager, seeded 15th, relied on the 6-foot-9 Hager's
dominating net play to overpower the Portuguese, who lost the
bronze medal match for the second consecutive Olympics.
Before the gold-medal game, Fonoimoana said the Brazilians would
feel more pressure because of the expectations of fans in a country
where volleyball is the second most popular sport after soccer.
The Brazilians were clear favorites, coming in with a 4-0 record
against Blanton and Fonoimoana, including two victories in July
tournaments. De Melo and Santos won five tournaments this year and
have reached the final four in 27 of 39 international events. By
comparison, Blanton and Fonoimoana have reached the semifinals in
five of their 23 internationals.
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ALSO SEE
Aussies thrill crowd with gold in beach volleyball
U.S. men's beach team earns spot in gold-medal match
Both U.S. women's teams move on to beach quarters
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