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US strikes gold at beach volleyball worlds, China takes silver
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-07-30 09:31
The awarding ceremony [CI] |
Olympic champions Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh became the first beach volleyball pair to win three consecutive world titles, since the start of the FIVB championships in 1997, after winning the 2007 tournament here on Saturday.
In winning their 22nd-straight international match before a packed centre court of more than 7,000 fans with a 21-16 and 21-10 win in 39 minutes over Jia Tian and Jie Wang of China, the US pair validated their earlier successes in the world championships from the 2003 finale in Rio de Janeiro and two years ago in Berlin.
"This was truly a team effort," said the 28-year old Walsh, who was selected as the most outstanding player for the 2007 World Championships.
"I am very fortunate to play with the best overall player in the game. I am embarrassed to win this honor because Misty plays such a big role in our game.
"She handled almost every serve in both matches today and was nearly flawless. We are a great combination that seeks to improve with each match."
The defending champions scored a 21-14 and 21-19 win in 40 minutes over another Chinese duo Xue Chen/Zhang Xi in Saturday morning's semifinals before eventually clashing with Tian/Wang, who rallied from a set behind to overcome Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca of Brazil 23-25, 21-19, 15-11 in 64 minutes.
In the bronze medal match, Juliana and Larissa maintained Brazil's record of claiming a women's medal in each world championships with a 19-21, 21-19 and 18-16 win in 63 minutes over Xu and Zhang.
For the record, May-Treanor and Walsh have now won 28 of 37 gold medal matches on the FIVB World Tour since forming their partnership 52 events ago at the start of the 2001 season.
The Americans rank behind the legendary Brazilian tandem of Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede as the winningest women's international Beach Volleyball team, with 31 SWATCH gold medals in 117 FIVB starts.
Saturday's final was also the sixth meeting between the two teams with May-Treanor and Walsh winning four times, including a 21-15 and 21-12 win in the Paris grand slam gold medal match last month.
The next week in Norway, the Chinese defeated the May-Treanor and Walsh 21-19 and 21-19 in the Stavanger semi-finals.
When asked about winning another Olympic gold medal, May-Treanor said that Saturday's win "was important in terms of qualifying."
"But we still have more than a year before competing in Beijing. A lot of things can happen in the next 12 months.
"Our only concern is getting better with each tournament and maintaining a consistent level of play."
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