Brazil Finds Way Back to the Gold

By Bill Dwyre

Aug. 30, 2004 12 AM PT

Brazil, shut out of men’s Olympic volleyball team medals since it won the gold at Barcelona in 1992, made it back to the top of the platform Sunday, winning the title match over Italy, 25-15, 24-26, 25-20, 25-22. Italy had taken bronze in 2000 and silver at the ’96 Olympics in Atlanta.

The only loss for Brazil during the Athens Olympics was a four-setter to the United States, late in pool play, after which U.S. Coach Doug Beal criticized the Brazilian team for not playing all out and apparently seeking to position itself in the medal round.

-- Bill Dwyre

Olympics

Bill Dwyre

Bill Dwyre was a three-times-weekly sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times from 2006-15. Before that, he was sports editor of the paper for 25 years. Dwyre was named national editor of the year by the National Press Foundation in 1985 for the paper’s coverage of the ’84 Olympics and winner of the Red Smith Award in 1996 by the Associated Press Sports Editors for sustained excellence in sports journalism. He was sports editor of the Milwaukee Journal from 1973 to 1981, when he joined The Times. Dwyre was named National Headliner Award winner in 1985, sportswriter of the year in Wisconsin in 1980 and sportswriter of the year in California in 2009.

Brazil Finds Way Back to the Gold

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