GOLD MEDAL FOR USA BEACH VOLLEYBALL<br> by Tim
Simmons - U.S. Olympic Committee (8115-6128)<br> USA
BEACH VOLLEYBALL PRESS CONFERENCE – TEAM<br> AMERICA
WINS THE GOLD<br> Homebush Bay Olympic Park, Main
Press Center<br> September 26, 2000<br> Participants –
Dain Blanton and Eric Fonoimoana<br><br> Q: Has
[winning the gold] sunk in yet or does it still seem
surreal?<br><br> Dain: It’s still going pretty fast and really
hasn’t slowed down, but every<br> few seconds it hits
you. It sinks in more and more. <br><br> Q: The
Brazilians said they didn’t think it was that much of an
upset<br> because the games with you earlier had been
difficult. Did you think it<br> was an upset? <br><br> Eric:
The way we played throughout the tournament was the
highest level<br> we’ve played in a long time, and that’s
what we knew it would take to<br> win. We were peaking
at the right time. We didn’t think it was an
upset<br> because we thought we should be here. <br><br> Q:
It was a pretty hairy game out there. What were you
talking about<br> strategy-wise?<br><br> Dain: We stuck
with our same strategy, which is to go after them. I
think<br> we tired them down a little bit and took it one
point at a time. They [the<br> Brazilians] are both
very tough in their own way; it just depends if
you’re<br> going to deal with power or someone who shoots
the ball well. <br><br> Q: At what point did you know
you were peaking; today or sometime<br>
earlier?<br><br> Eric: There was no one point; a lot of it
depended on making the big<br> plays<br> when it mattered.
Our side out play was strong throughout the
Olympics.<br> We knew that’s what it would take. We also knew
it would take someone<br> doing something big to
make the other team think and to put pressure on<br>
them. And I think that kept a lot of other teams
off-balance.<br><br> Q: Do you think the Brazilians are
disappointed?<br><br> Dain: I’m sure they’re disappointed because
they’ve been hyped to win<br> and were supposed to win
the gold medal. But I think they knew they had<br>
their hands full. It wasn’t a fluke to us.