The women's beach volleyball final yesterday turned out to be a rare occasion where both finalists could celebrate.
After a hard-fought match, played in unrelenting rain at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground, American veterans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor became the first pair to defend an Olympic title.
Misty May-Treanor (L) and her teammate Kerri Walsh (R) of the US celebrate their victory over China's Tian Jia and Wang Jie in their women's final beach volleyball match at Beijing's Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground on August 21, 2008 during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The US team won 2-0 and took the gold medal. [Agencies]
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China's Tian Jia and Wang Jie achieved the nation's best record ever in the sport.
The Americans won 21-18, 21-18.
"This match was so big, we have just gone back to back at the Olympics. No one has ever won two gold medals in beach volleyball," said 31-year-old May-Treanor from Santa Monica, California.
The Chinese pair, though upset, said they were happy with their own play.
Misty May-Treanor (front R) and Kerri Walsh (front L) of the US celebrate winning their women's beach volleyball final match against Tian Jia (rear L) and Wang Jie (rear R) of China at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 21, 2008. [Agencies]
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"After the final point, we hugged each other and Tian told me not to feel sad because we really had a great match together," said 24-year-old Wang Jie, who was taking part in her first Olympics.
Both sides were strong in the opening minutes of the match, with several lucky netballs going the Chinese team's way.
The 170-cm-tall Tian, a small figure in beach volleyball terms, even had perfect saves and drop shots to wow fans from both sides.
But the Chinese pair showed signs of nerves while attacking in the final stages of the set. Walsh and May-Treanor, on the other hand, executed solid defense and lethal finishes to take the opening set.
Walsh/May-Treanor jumped to a three-point lead early in the second set, but Tian/Wang fought back to leavel at 15.
But again, when it mattered, the American pair raised the level and Walsh powered down one last spike to end the match.
The triple world champions screamed, leapt into each other's arms and fell into the sand.
"I'm speechless," said May-Treanor after the match.
"This has been Kerri's and my goal since the last ball dropped in Athens. It's been a lot of hard work, a lot of love, a wonderful ride," she added, drenched after playing in the downpour.
"We were prepared for the rain. We've played a lot of tournaments in the rain and in the sun, so I think the rain gave us luck today," said Walsh from San Jose, who celebrated her 30th birthday in Beijing last week.
May-Treanor and Walsh have not lost a match in more than a year and didn't drop a set at the Olympics.
"Before the match everyone wanted us to win the gold medal, but our opponents were too strong, especially during the crucial points," said Tian, 27, a three-time Olympian.
Earlier, World No 4 China's Xue Chen/Zhang Xi won the bronze medal with a straight-set win over Brazilians Renata Ribeiro and Talita Rocha.
Agencies contributed to the story