USA's May/Walsh win beach volleyball gold at FIVB Canada tourney

Top-seeded Misty May and Kerri Walsh of the United States regained their claim as the top women's pro beach volleyball team in the world on Saturday, July 13, 2002, in Montreal, Canada, by defeating two highly-regarded tandems to win their third Gold Medal of the 2002 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour season.

For the second-time this season, May (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.) defeated Brazilians Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede for a FIVB Gold Medal as the Americans posted a 21-18 and 25-23 win in 46 minutes to capture the $22,500 first-place prize on the Stade du Maurier Centre Court. The two wins Saturday improved May and Walsh's record to 25-3 this season.

Competing in their sixth FIVB gold medal match and seventh overall, May and Walsh have now won five pro beach titles together. May won her 10 pro beach crown. Each of Walsh's five gold medals have been with May, who had won her first five titles with McPeak.

The second-seeded Behar and Bede, the 1999 and 2001 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Champions and Silver Medallists from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, have won a record 27 international gold medals together. The gold medal match Saturday was also the fifth title meeting between the two teams, with the May and Walsh winning three times.

May and Walsh won the first title confrontation with Behar and Bede in July 2000 in Portugal. Behar and Bede, who shared $15,000 for second-placed, bested May and Walsh twice last August in Japan and Hong Kong. May and Walsh evened the gold medal series by defeating the Brazilians last month (June 22) in Switzerland. The Americans also won the 2002 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour season opener in Madrid, Spain (June 9).

With Saturday's title win, May and Walsh have now tied the head-to-head series with Behar and Bede at 4-4. Walsh was playing Behar and Bede for the sixth-time in a title match, as the second-season USA pro dropped a FIVB gold medal match to the Brazilians last November in Forteleza, Brazil, with McPeak.

May and Walsh were competing in their 14th pro beach event together. The pair has eight podium placements and nine "final four" finishes together. May and Walsh have now earned $76,800 in earnings in four FIVB events this season. Overall, May and Walsh have posted a 65-18 match mark in two seasons with a combined earnings of $188,550. On the FIVB Tour, May and Walsh were competing in their 12th international event with a 59-16 match mark and $179,800 in combined earnings.

Saturday title match also marked the 45th-time in 86 women's FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour events that Brazil and the United States competed for an international gold medal. With May and Walsh's three gold medal wins against Brazilian teams this season, the United States leads the series 23-22. Overall, Brazil has won 48 FIVB gold medals, with the United States capturing 35 titles and Australia three.

May and Walsh advanced to the gold medal match with a 18-21, 21-14 and 15-12 win in 53 minutes over American rivals McPeak (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Youngs (Durango, Colorado). The semifinal meeting was the first ever between the top two USA teams, as McPeak and Youngs won last week's FIVB stop in Norway where May and Walsh placed fourth. Overall, the fourth-seeded McPeak and Youngs have a 37-2 match mark this season (20-0 domestically).

Behar and Bede, who have now placed ninth, second, third and second in four FIVB starts this season, earned a spot in the final with a 20-22, 21-13 and 15-6 win in 58 minutes over third-seeded Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst of Australia. The Aussies defeated Behar and Bede for the Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medal on Bondi Beach.

McPeak and Youngs, who have claimed four USA domestic titles on the AVP Tour this season, along with the gold in Norway, scored a 21-16, 20-22 and 15-12 win in 62 minutes over Cook and Pottharst to earn the bronze medal and the $11,940 third-place prize. Cook and Pottharst, who dropped a gold medal decision to McPeak and Youngs in Norway, shared $9,300 for fourth-place. The Aussies handed McPeak and Youngs their first defeat of the season in Switzerland (June 21).

For more information on FIVB beach volleyball events, go to the FIVB website.