“I’m almost stunned that there’s no more points to play,” Blanton said, recalling the moment of victory. Sure enough, Ze Marco got set in the middle, turned the spike back line, but Fonoimoana was ready, stuffing Brazil straight down. And I felt that somebody needed to make a big play.” “It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I thought, ‘I guarantee he’s not sneaking line by me. I knew that Ze Marco wants to hit, especially if he’s in the middle of the court, and I thought, ‘How do I get a little higher?’ and I got up pretty darn high up there off of a swing block. “I wanted to do something different at that point, and I thought that it was an opportunity to seal the line. Their coach, Greg Vernovage, had spent all night literally cutting VHS tape to make a video that would help them understand Brazil’s hitting tendencies.įonoimoana knew that Ze Marco preferred to hit line. “You’re going to have to earn that point.”įonoimoana, known as “The Body” for his high level of physical fitness, knew that they would have to play aggressively in order to beat the steady Brazilians, who held a 4-0 head-to-head record against the Americans that year. “I felt that someone had to make a big play, because it’s sideout,” Fonoimoana said. The Americans won the first 12-11, and were up 11-9, needing one point to win and not go to a third set.
They had been playing for more than an hour and a half in a sideout-scoring match with sets to 12.
Twenty years ago today - Septemin Sydney, Australia, ninth-seeded Eric Fonoimoana and partner Dain Blanton knocked off third-seeded Brazilians Ze Marco de Melo and Ricardo Santos for the gold medal.
Twenty years later it remains “arguably the biggest upset in the sport.”
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