US retain beach volleyball crown

United States duo Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor retained their women's beach volleyball crown with victory over China's Tian Jia and Wang Jie.

May-Treanor and Walsh won 21-18 21-18 to maintain their record of not having lost a set in the tournament.

Walsh sealed the match with a smash to knock out the pre-event favourites in difficult rain-sodden conditions.

China's Xue Chen and Zhang Xi claimed bronze when they beat Brazil's Renata Ribeiro and Talita Rocha 21-19 21-17.

The Americans said afterwards that they used the weather conditions to their advantage.

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"The rain makes it better," said Walsh. "We felt like warriors out there. The pressure of playing the hosts made it pretty intense."

"Ever since the ball dropped in Athens, we've wanted to repeat as Olympic champions," May-Treanor added.

"No one has ever done it before."

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