Walsh, May-Treanor win gold
American duo sweeps past Chinese team
Thursday, August 21, 2008 3:03 PM PDT
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| USA’s Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor celebrate their gold medal win against China at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground in their final match for the XXIX Olympics in Beijing, China, on Thursday. |
BEIJING (AP) — Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor were prepared for the downpour, just as they were for a young Chinese team that was the latest to challenge their four-year reign over women’s beach volleyball.
‘‘This is just another reason why we play in bathing suits,’’ May-Treanor said.
Ignoring the rain that drenched their uniforms and left them squinting into the sky where the sun should be, Walsh and May-Treanor won their second consecutive gold medal Thursday by beating China in straight sets.
It was the 108th consecutive victory overall and 14th straight at the Olympics for the Americans, who did not lose a set in either Athens or Beijing.
‘‘I dreamt about rain last night. It could have been 500 degrees or 500 below, and we’d be happy,’’ Walsh said, after beating Wang Jie and Tian Jia 21-18, 21-18. ‘‘The rain makes it better. We felt like warriors out there.’’
Known as ‘‘Six Feet of Sunshine’’ for her bubbly smile, Walsh’s personality couldn’t part the clouds that drenched the Chaoyang Park venue for the bronze- and gold-medal matches.
It was no day to be at the beach — not for Wang and Tian, and not for the fans who huddled under pastel ponchos and umbrellas.
But the 12,200-seat venue was packed, the dancers in bikinis jiggled to rock music and the players pressed on without concern for the weather.
The wet and heavy ball forced them to bump-set instead of doing it over their heads, and the sometimes driving rain made it difficult to look up to receive passes.
It was no problem for the Americans.
And neither were the Chinese.
‘‘The American team is better than we are,’’ Tian said. ‘‘They are more experienced and stronger. But we have made great strides for these Olympic Games. This is the best that we could do.’’
Drew wrote on Aug 21, 2008 4:27 PM: