PARIS (AP) — Miles Partain and Andy Benesh couldn’t stop the slide so the United States is leaving beach volleyball at the Paris Olympics without a medal for the first time.
The 21-14, 21-16 loss to the Qatari team of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan in the quarterfinals on Wednesday made it the first American medal shutout since the sport was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Partain and Benesh carried American hopes with both women’s teams and the other men’s team already out of the tournament.
“I wish one of our teams did (win a medal),” Partain said. “We did the best we could.”
Benesh said the lack of American medals in the sport at the Paris Games was not necessarily because of a drop in the team’s level, but more because the general standard of play has gone up.
“It’s a little bit different than it was 20 years ago. There’s a lot of competition around the world,” Benesh said. “As a fan of beach volleyball it’s fun to watch, people are playing with different styles in men’s and women’s (competition).”
The American pair led 12-11 in the first set at Eiffel Tower Stadium, but some sloppy shot-making allowed the Qataris to pull away. Younousse and Tijan drew roars from the night-time crowd with some of their improvised moves.
“Qatar played really well,” Benesh said. “We just didn’t execute as well as them.”
The Qataris still have a chance to do better than in Tokyo three years ago, when their bronze was the first Olympic medal in beach volleyball for any Middle Eastern country.
“We are living our dream. We don’t have any expectations, we are just dreaming,” Younousse said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to play here in front of the Eiffel Tower with this amazing atmosphere.”
Defending men’s champions Anders Berntsen Mol and Christian Sandlie Sorum of Norway also impressed under the lights. They won 21-16, 21-17, beating Pablo Herrera Allepuz — a silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Games — and Adrian Gavira Collado of Spain.
Mol showed some soccer skills countryman Erling Haaland might have been proud of, rescuing a seemingly lost point with a smart flick of his right foot. The ball squirted up and Soerum won the point, then hugged Mol.
Norway clinched the first set when Mol pounced at the net for a smart block. Soerum’s spike at the net then won the match as a breeze cooled fans after some intense heat in the French capital. Mol celebrated with a spectacular backflip and Sorum didn’t bother trying to match him, settling for a comedic-looking backward roll.
They face the German pair of Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers in Thursday’s semifinals, while the Qataris will play Swedish jump-set specialists David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig.
In the women’s quarterfinals earlier Wednesday, the top-ranked Brazilian team of Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa beat Anastasija Samoilova and Tina Graudina of Latvia 21-16, 21-10.
The Brazilians sank to their knees and then hugged each other after winning on the second match point when Samoilova’s serve hit the net.
“It was difficult to read their serve, there was a lot of variation,” Silva Ramos said through a translator. “But we recovered well.”
The Latvian pair had taken an early 6-0 lead over the Brazilians, but it didn’t last.
“Obviously they are better than that as a team, and brought it back to their level,” Graudina said.
Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson of Canada reached the semifinals by beating Daniela Alvarez Mendoza and Tania Moreno Matveeva of Spain 21-18, 21-18.
Canada clinched a back-and-forth first set when Moreno Matveeva served long. After winning on their second match point, the Canadians dipped under the net and celebrated in front a handful of their flag-waving fans.
In Thursday’s semifinals, the Brazilians will face the Australian team of Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy — silver medalists at the Tokyo Games three years ago — while the Canadians take on Nina Brunner and Tanja Hueberli of Switzerland.
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