Brazil takes beach volleyball gold

Marques, Ferreira beat Kiraly, Johnson 12-11, 12-4

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Posted: Sunday July 26, 1998 06:29 PM

Sand storm: Guilherme (right) and Para won $30,000 for their gold-medal winning performance AP

NEW YORK (AP) - On a pile of sand dumped on an ice-skating rink surrounded by skyscrapers, a pair of Brazilians showed why they are the world's top-ranked beach volleyball team and kept the sport's senior dude from adding another victory to his record list.

Guilherme Marques and Para Ferreira beat the U.S. team of Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson 12-11, 12-4 Sunday to win the gold medal at the Goodwill Games.

With almost 1 million of sand imported from Canada to cover Wollman Rink in Central Park, a sport that's used to endless horizons of the seashore was played with huge shade trees nearby and the office buildings, hotels and apartment towers of midtown Manhattan looming above.

A near-capacity crowd of 2,800 was charged up early, hoping to see the 37-year-old Kiraly, who is often mentioned as his sport's Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky or Michael Jordan, add another title to the 130 he has won over his 12-year career.

It started well for the U.S. team, but the Brazilians, the defending world champions, took control late in the first game and dominated the second to sweep the best-of-3 match for the gold medal.

The Brazilians, who shared $30,000 as champions, definitely had age on their side, with the 29-year-old Guilherme five years older than Para, who is considered the best player in the world right now. Johnson, 33, and Kiraly, partners on the U.S. professional circuit, split US$20,000 for winning the silver.

"You can look at the score and say "Oh, that was easy," but it's not just the score," Guilherme said. "This tournament was very difficult with a lot of great players, especially one today who has a lot of international experience." The U.S. team had a 9-6 lead in the opening game, but the Brazilians ran off five straight points to get up a game point. Kiraly and Johnson managed to tie it 11-11 with Kiraly making a great diving save on one point and coming up with a great stuff to the net for the other.

The Brazilians got the serve back on the next play, then put the opening game away with an immediate point.

Guilherme and Para - just like Brazil's soccer player, they usually go by one name only - took command of the second game with a 6-point run for an 8-1 lead. The second game was much closer to the early round meeting that Brazil won 15-3, Kiraly and Johnson's only loss before the gold medal match.

"Even after the first game we thought we were in good shape," Kiraly said. "We took them out of their game but they still played really well and beat us. They picked it up and we didn't."

Kiraly was terse when asked if the United States had to give up the mantle of best beach volleyball country in the world to Brazil.

"They're playing very well right now," he said.

The air temperature was 81 degrees Fahrenheit and a thermometer in the sand registered 102 degrees, well off the 125 that was recorded earlier in the week.

In the match for the bronze medal, Martin Conde and Eduardo Martinez of Argentina beat Julien Prosser and Leo Zahner of Australia 12-11, 12-9.

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