Guilherme/Para Net Goodwill Beach Gold - Argentina Spikes Bronze

NEW YORK, N. Y. - Brazilians Guilherme Marques and Para Ferreira won their second "major" men's beach volleyball title in the past 11 months on United States sand here Sunday (July 26) by capturing the Gold medal at the 1998 Goodwill Games Gold in Central Park at Wollman Rink.

The Brazilians scored a 12-11 and 12-4 win over Adam Johnson and Karch Kiraly of the United States to share the $30,000 first-place prize at Wollman Rink.   The Americans were left to split the $20,000 second-place prize in the $100,000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event.

In the Goodwill Games' Bronze medal match earlier Sunday at Wollman Rink, Martin Conde and Esteban Martinez downed Julien Prosser and Leo Zahner of Australia 12-11 and 12-9 to share the $15,000 third-place prize.  The Aussies shared $11,000 for fourth in the FIVB-sanctioned event.

The Brazilians, who downed Johnson and Kiraly 15-3 Thursday in Group A play, won the 55-minute first set 12-11 on Para's block of Johnson. Guilherme and Para had led 11-9 before the United States tied the count at 11s.

Guilherme and Para, the only unbeaten team in the 1998 Goodwill Games with a 5-0 record, led from the start in the 52-minute second set to capture their second-straight FIVB event title after winning last weekend in Lignano, Italy.

Norway's Jan Kvalheim and Bjorn Maaseide scored a 15-13 win over John Child and Mark Heese of Canada to capture fifth-place Saturday at Wollman Rink.   The Norwegians, who won the 1994 Goodwill Games Gold medal in St. Petersburg, Russia, shared the $8,000 purse for fifth-place while Child and Heese, the Bronze medalists at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, split $7,000 for sixth.  The Laciga Brothers (Martin and Paul) of Switzerland scored a 15-7 win over Ricci Luyties and Sinjin Smith of the United States to earn seventh-place in the competition.  The Swiss split $5,000 while Luyties and Smith shared $4,000.