Top-seeded Brazilians Alison and Bruno Schmidt won the gold medal in men's beach volleyball Thursday on their home sand.
They defeated fifth-seeded Italians Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai, who earned silver.
The final score of the match, which was played in a steady rain, was 21-19, 21-17.
Alison made his Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games, where he won silver alongside Emanuel Rego. The duo lost to Germany’s Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann in the gold medal match.
Bruno Schmidt was making his first Olympic appearance in Rio.
Lupo/Nicolai were the first Italian beach volleyball team to advance past the quarterfinals.
Earlier Thursday, Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands won the bronze medal in beach volleyball, the Associated Press reported.
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The Dutch pair beat Russia's Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Konstantin Semenov 23-21, 22-20 on Thursday night in a light rain at the Copacabana venue. It's the Netherlands' first Olympic men's or women's beach volleyball medal.
After surviving two set points, Krasilnikov threw his hat aside in disgust when the winning point sailed off his hand and out of bounds. Brouwer screamed before embracing his teammate.
The rain soaked the warmups but stopped before the match. Still, the venue remained largely empty.
