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RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- European champions Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany swept world champions and home favorites Agatha Rippel/Seixas Barbara 2-0 here Wednesday evening to claim the women's beach volleyball gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
Ludwig/Walkenhorst were crowned with the 21-18 and 21-14 win in 40 minutes in the final.
The first set was hotly contested before Ludwig/Walkenhorst overtook the lead at 17-13 on back of five unanswered points. Agatha/Barbara managed to pull within 19-17 and 20-18, only to find Ludwig clinch the opener for the German duo with a kill.
In the second set, Ludwig/Walkenhorst jumped to a 6-1 lead and never looked back.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross of the United States rallied past Larissa Franca/Talita Rocha of Brazil 17-21, 21-17 and 15-9 to take the bronze.
"As an athlete, I swear this is the hardest match I've ever played in my life," said Walsh, who had captured three consecutive Olympic gold medal with former partner Misty May-treanor. "It was all perseverance. April Ross is the champ of the world right now. She played unbelievably."
"You fight for your life out there and we never gave up," said Ross. "That match was just so hard, I can't convey how hard it was. Even on the world tour in a normal tournament, that's the worst match (bronze medal match) to play. When an Olympic medal is on the line and you have to rebound from the night before when you're just devastated, I'm just so proud of us."
