Germany beats Brazil for gold in women's beach volleyball
American Kerri Walsh Jennings picks up bronze for fourth Olympic medal
By Daniel Goffenberg, CBC Sports
Germany's Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst beat Brazil's Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas de Freitas to win gold in women's beach volleyball on Wednesday night.
The straight sets victory (21-18, 21-14) came in front of a partisan home crowd in Rio eager to see one of its volleyball teams deliver on the biggest stage.
The gold is Germany's first-ever medal in women's beach volleyball.
Ludwig and Walkenhorst weathered a strong start by the Brazilians to break away late in the first set.
Bednarczuk and Seixas were never able to regain momentum and fell behind early in the second, with Walkenhorst giving the Brazilian pair trouble at the net.
Walkenhorst finished the match with seven blocks, while no other competitor had more than one.
Brazil, traditionally a volleyball powerhouse, has already seen its women's indoor team upset in the quarter-finals and its other beach duo finish fourth.
Its last two hopes for a gold medal lie with the men.
Bruno Oscar Schmidt and Alison Cerutti play Italy in the men's beach final Thursday night at 10:59 p.m. ET, while the indoor team plays its semifinal match against Russia at 9:15 p.m. on Friday.
Walsh Jennings wins fourth Olympic medal
Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross beat Brazil's other pair, Larissa Franca Maestrini and Talita Rocha in three sets (17-21, 21-17, 15-9) to win the bronze medal.
The win gives Walsh Jennings a fourth Olympic medal to go along with each gold she won in the previous three Olympics.
This was her first Games with Ross as her partner. Ross was a member of the U.S. pair that lost to Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor in the 2012 Olympic final.