Americans silence the Brazilian samba

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Sydney: The rhythmic beat of the Brazilian samba was finally drowned out by the Star Spangled Banner on Tuesday as the United States won the Olympic men's beach volleyball tournament.

Dain Blanton and Eric Fonoimoana upset Brazil's Ze Marco and Ricardo Santos to win gold in the final at Bondi Beach. The two Americans only secured their place for the Sydney games a month ago by finishing third in a qualifying tournament in Belgium.

But they took away the gold after beating the tournament favourites 12-11 12-9 in front of a boisterous crowd of 10,000 that transformed the temporary amphitheatre into a South American carnival.

"The Brazilians came in under a lot of pressure," Blanton said. "They were the favourites but we knew that we could beat them if everything went our way, and it did. It could have gone either way. We haven't beaten them before but we just happened to do it on the biggest day of our careers."

The two Californians saved three set points to win the opening set in 35 minutes after trailing 11-8 then added the second set in 66 minutes to secure the gold, presented to them by International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Blanton and Fonoimoana had lost to the Brazilians each of the four previous times they'd played and again looked to be in trouble as the more experienced South American pair surged 11-8 in front in the first set.

With light rain falling, the two Americans had to quickly change their tactics after the 2.0 metre (6ft 7in) tall Santos successfully pulled off six blocks in the first set, abandoning brute force for more delicate shot making.

The Americans saved three set points and eventually pulled back to 11-11 before winning the set at their first opportunity when Ze Marco smashed the ball wide.

The Americans opened up a 4-0 lead at the start of the second and although the Brazilians squared the set at 4-4, they never again managed to get back on level terms despite the raucous support of their fans.

Brazil also lost Monday's women's final to Australia after going into that match as strong favourites, capping off a disappointing tournament for the South Americans.

"We're happy with the silver but on the inside we're crying," de Melo said. "I know people will be disappointed but all games at this level are very difficult."

Jorg Ahmann and Axel Hager of Germany also pulled off an upset to beat Portugal's Luis Maia and Joao Brenha 12-9, 12-6 in the bronze medal playoff.



(c) Reuters Limited.