Brazil's Shelda/Bede net beach volleyball gold in Spain

Top-seeded Misty May and Kerri Walsh of the United States saw their FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour winning streak stopped at 14-straight match wins as the United States tandem dropped the Gold Medal match to second-seeded Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede of Brazil on Saturday, September 7, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Behar and Bede scored a 21-13, 17-21 and 16-14 win over May and Walsh in 62 minutes. It was the Brazilians second Gold Medal this season on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour as Behar and Bede won for the 29th time on the international circuit, a record for both men and women. Behar and Bede have now shared $1,539,326 for 80 FIVB starts.

"This was our best match this year," said a Behar after the match as the Brazilians trailed 6-0 in the final set. In winning their 54th match in 65 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour starts this season, Behar and Bede shared the $22,500 first-place prize while May and Walsh shared $15,000. Saturday's title win also evened the series between the two teams at 6-6 as May and Walsh hold a 5-2 edge this season.

Saturday's gold medal match marked the seventh-time that the two teams have played each other for an international title with Behar and Bede winning for the their first final against their American rivals this season and third overall. May and Walsh had won the previous three Gold Medal meetings this season in Switzerland, Canada and Austria. The Brazilians won 2001 titles from May and Walsh in Japan and Hong Kong while dropping last year's Portugal title match to the Americans.

Play on the Playa de Palma, a famous holiday beach on the Spanish Island of Mallorca, Saturday's finale also marked the 47th time that Brazil and the United States have faced each other in a women's FIVB Gold Medal match in 92 events. Behar and Bede's Gold Medal win Saturday snapped a string of five-straight title victories for the United States against their South American rivals. The USA leads the women's title series 24-23.

Saturday's title defeat was only the seventh in 67 FIVB matches this season for May (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.), who are the top-ranked team on the international circuit this season with 2,800 points and $180,140 in earnings. May and Walsh can clinch the season points title by winning two play matches in the FIVB's women's season finale in Vitoria, Brazil September 17-22. For two seasons of pro beach action together, May and Walsh have shared $291,890 with a 101-22 match mark for 20 events.

Behar and Bede, the Silver Medallists at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and two-time World Champions (1999 and 2001), have won the season points title the past five seasons. Entering the final women's FIVB event this season, Behar and Bede have 2,530 points and $138,915 in shared earnings.

Behar and Bede earned a spot in their 45th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour final by scoring an 18-21, 21-18 and 15-12 win in 58 minutes over 13th-seeded Eva Celbova and Sona Dosoudilova of the Czech Republic. The win was the second this season over the Czech Republic team for Behar and Bede.

May and Walsh advanced to the finals with a 21-16, 17-21 and 15-9 win in 58 minutes over fourth-seeded Ana Paula Connelly and Tatiana Minello of Brazil. The semifinal win avenged a 24-22 and 21-19 setback to the Brazilians in the Japanese Open semifinal August 11. The two teams have split four matches this season as May and Walsh scored a 23-21 and 21-14 victory in the season's first gold medal match June 9 in Madrid, Spain.

In the bronze medal match, Ana Paula and Minello scored a 21-10 and 21-19 win over Celbova and Dosoudilova. The Brazilians shared $11,940 for third place while Celbova and Dosoudilova split $9,300 for their first "final four" finish this season. The Czech team's best FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour finish was a fourth at the 2001 World Championships in Austria.

Celbova and Dosoudilova upset fourth-seeded Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst of Australia (18-21, 21-18 and 16-14) and fifth-seeded Rebekka Kadijk and Marrit Leenstra of Netherlands (21-18 and 23-21) to advance to the "final four." Cook and Pottharst captured the Sydney 2000 Olympic Gold Medal by defeating Behar and Bede in the finals.

The 2002 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour concludes with events in Brazil (Vitoria, September 17-22 for women October 1-6 in Fortaleza for men). The qualifying period for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games begins with the 2003 season as a team's top eight finishes will be used to determine the participates.