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United States strike Olympic gold in Bondi bonanza
= = SYDNEY, Sept 26 (AFP) - The United States struck a Bondi bonanza Tuesday, striking gold as they brought the Olympic beach volleyball to a close with an upset win over Brazil. Dain Blanton and Eric Fonoimoana, who have never done better than fourth in any elite competition before, beat the Olympic third-seeds Jose Marco Melo and Ricardo Santos in straight sets 12-11, 12-9. As the Bondi Beach stadium rocked to the singing and dancing of a 10,000 strong sell-out crowd, who provided a carnival atmosphere that disguised miserable cold and wet conditions, Blanton and Fonoimoanaa repeated the US success in Atlanta four years ago. "We're more of an aggressive power team, and the rain slows you down. But luckily, it wasn't raining that hard," Blanton said after the longest match of the tournament. The one hour 41 minute chiller-thriller silenced sports purists who had criticised beach volleyball's inclusion in the Games as style over substance, and IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch gave the sport his seal of approval by presenting the medals. "This is the most amazing moment of my life," Blanton said. "Samaranch said congratulations. It was nice to have him put the medal over my head." The Americans, who only cemented a place in the Olympics at the final qualification tournament a month ago, trailed for most of the first set before a crucial five-point burst when the Brazilians held set point. Playing California-style volleyball with fire and verve, Blanton and Fonoimoana went from 10-11 down in the first set to 3-0 up in the second - a handy buffer as the fought out a marathon 66 minute second set where desperate blocks made points elusive. Melo and Santos at one stage clawed their way back to a one-point deficit at 10-9, before Blanton and Fonoimoana dug deep one more time to get the final two points they needed. Their first win in five encounters with the Brazilians this year came when it mattered most. "It's unbelievable. When Eric blocked that last point it was like a relief," Brunton said. Melo and Santos, denied the gold medal they coveted to add to the silver and bronze won by the Brazilian women on Monday, believed until the final point they could have turned the game around. "We just happened to lose," said Melo. "We're sad, but we came away knowing we played our best." Germany's Axel Hager and Jorg Ahmann convincingly beat Miguel Maia and Joao Brenha from Portugal 12-9, 12-6 in the playoff for the bronze, denying the Portuguese a medal for the second time. Maia and Brenha were beaten by Canada at the same stage in the Atlanta Olympics four years ago. But they could find no way around the 2.06 meter German giant Hager who dominated at the net. "I'm very disappointed," Brenha said. "In Atlanta I thought maybe this was the chance of my life. But here I had another chance and I lost.
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