The US, led by the tournament’s best player Clayton Stanley, won the Olympic men’s volleyball gold yesterday, beating defending champions Brazil by three sets to one in the final.
Stanley, the top scorer and server in Beijing, killed off the Brazilians at the second match point with an emblematic cross-court smash that their inspirational captain Gilberto Godoy Filho was unable to return.
“A gold medal in the Olympics is a huge victory for us,” said Sean Rooney, referring to a campaign that was overshadowed by the killing of head coach Hugh McCutcheon’s father-in-law, who was stabbed to death at a tourist site. “I think when that kind of thing happens, the guys got a good taste of what’s important in life.”
Brazil took the first set 25-20, but the US came back to narrowly win the next three sets 25-22, 25-21 and 25-23.
Stanley finished with 20 points, including 15 spikes, while Godoy Filho scored 14 points for Brazil and Dante Amaral 13 spikes.
In the decisive fourth set, the US rallied from two points down behind the spikes of Priddy, who also teamed up with Ryan Millar and David Lee for 12 blocks.
Endres Murilo, who scored 13 for Brazil, saved a point with a drive before Stanley found himself alone in the right corner for the uncontested kill.
The two teams have four Olympic titles between them. But the Americans, who went through the tournament undefeated, had not won it since 1988 in Seoul.
Brazil started the stronger with the high-leaping Godoy Filho, Andre Heller and Amaral scoring with some crowd-pleasing kills, while Stanley misfired early.
But when Stanley found his groove in the second set the Americans raced to a 6-0 lead helped by his two kills and and a jump serve ace.
Brazil fought back with some inspired Godoy Filho smashes and an ace, plus effective blocking that brought them back to within one at 20-21, before a Stanley ace and two smashes got the US home.
The third set developed into a see-saw battle, until the US drew away with the help of their solid defense.
Russia beat Italy for the bronze medal.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946