(25 July 1996; Day 6)
In her third Olympic Games, Jackie SILVA is on a quest for her first Olympic gold medal in volleyball. As an indoor player with the Brazilian team, she was unable to fulfill that dream.
However, paired with Sandra PIRES and a top-seed in this tournament, she is smiling, joking, digging and spiking her way toward that end. PIRES is cautiously optimistic, whereas the veteran SILVA exudes confidence from every pore.
"Sandra is all the time telling me to shut up about the gold medal and being good enough to win the gold," said SILVA. We have to get to the finals, then we can talk about that. Now we are just playing."
SILVA is on the right track about her chances. PIRES, whom she discovered on the beaches of their native Brazil, is a perfect foil for the veteran SILVA.
"I went to Brazil to look for a partner to bring to America and then to the Olympic Games. I saw her and went to my coach and said I found a young player with a lot of courage and heart," said SILVA. "I found her at our national beach tournament."
The road to the gold unfortunately had the top-seed pitted against the other Brazilian pair of Monica SAMUEL and Adriana RODRIGUES Thursday morning. Despite the close friendship between the two, on the court there was only one objective for SILVA/PIRES -- winning.
SILVA/PIRES were not to be denied. Their opponent managed to pull within one at 4-3, but watched helplessly as the top seeds reeled off 11 unanswered points.
"In 1980 at Moscow, I was just a kid just getting a feeling for the Olympic Games. In 1984, we had a good team but had to play the American team, who were great. We had them 2-0 and then lost 3-2 losing the last game 15-13. I was totally frustrated," said SILVA.
SILVA went to Italy to play professionally before quitting to concentrate on the beach game.
"These Olympic Games I feel more comfortable. All I need to do is play my game," said SILVA.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Nancy Allison Smith.
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