U.S., Brazil in battle of the bronzed
BEIJING (Reuters) - Bronzed bodies, bright lights and blaring music have made beach volleyball one of the most popular Olympic sports and the competition will be hotter than ever in Beijing.
The United States and Brazil, the dominant forces in beach volleyball, top the rankings and, as in so many sports, China are snapping at their heels.
Beach volleyball was elevated to Olympic status at the 1996 Atlanta Games, bringing the glamour of the sun-kissed sands of California and Rio to the world's premier sporting event.
The decision was criticized by some as a ploy to boost viewing figures with muscle-rippling athletes jumping around in bikinis or sleeveless slips, but the high-octane atmosphere has become a staple of the Games.
It has also created something of a competition among organizers to create the most photogenic venues. Sydney staged its beach volleyball event on the sands of Bondi Beach.
China originally planned to hold the 2008 event in Tiananmen Square where hundreds of protesters were killed when the government sent tanks in to break up a 1989 student protest.
Organizers changed their minds and shipped tonnes of sand from an island off southern China to a less emotive new stadium in an amusement park.
Athens women's gold medalists and three-times world champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh of the U.S. have not dropped a match this year during which they have played comparatively little.
Brazilians Juliana and Larissa will have to recover from injury to head off two Chinese pairs in the Olympic rankings top five -- Tian Jia and Wang Jie, and Xue Chen and Zhang Xi.
Things also look hopeful for the United States in the men's draw where 2007 world champions Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are peaking just ahead of their first Olympics after winning their last three tournaments.
Not far behind them are champions Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego, who have been pretty consistent since Athens, and fellow Brazilians Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz.
The Chinese men are also making waves. Wu Penggen and Xu "Tiny" Linyin lead the 2008 Tour rankings and have finished second in five tournaments this year, without winning a title. Tiny is 2 meters tall.
(Editing by Robert Woodward)
(For more stories visit our multimedia website "Road to Beijing" here; and see our blog at blogs.reuters.com/china)
