1998 GOODWILL GAMES

RESULTS

MEN
• 22 July - Wednesday
• 23 July - Thursday
• 24 July - Friday
• 25 July - Saturday
• 26 July - Sunday

WOMEN
• 29 July - Wednesday
• 30 July - Thursday
• 31 July - Friday
• 1 August - Saturday
• 2 August - Sunday

WHERE

New York (N.Y.) metropolitan area, including Manhattan, Long Island and Staten Island.

Beach volleyball will be played at Wollman Rink in Central Park, 830 5th Avenue.

VOLLEYBALL - BEACH

Competition Dates:
                   Wednesday, July 22 - Sunday, August 2, 1998
                    Mens event - 22 to 26 July
                    Womens event - July 29 to August 2, 1998


Competitors:
       
            MEN:
                USA          Karch Kiraly/Adam Johnson
                USA          Sinjin Smith/Ricci Luyties
                Brazil       Para Ferreira Souza/Guilherme Marques
                Norway       Jan Kvalheim/Bjorn Maaseide
                Argentina    Eduardo Martinez/Martin Conde
                Switzerland  Martin Laciga/Paul Laciga
                Canada       John Child/Mark Hesse
                Australia    Julien Prosser/Leo Zahner
 
            WOMEN:
                USA          Lisa Arce/Holly McPeak
                USA          Karolyn Kirby/Liz Masakayan
                Brazil       Adriana Behar/Shelda
                Germany      Maike Friedrichsen/Danja Musch
                Australia    Pauline Manser/Kerri-Ann Pottharst
                Italy        Laura Bruschini/Annamaria Solazzi
                Czech        Sona Dosoudilova/Eva Celbova
                Canada       Kristine Drakich/Guylaine Dumont

Venue:  Wallman Rink in Central Park

Tickets: Prelims $24 Semifinals $38 Finals $48

SCHEDULE

Date: July 22 to 26, 1998
Venue: Central Park's Wollman Rink, New York

DESCRIPTION

The Goodwill Games are an international, multi-sport invitational that unites the world's best athletes.

Site:

New York (N.Y.) metropolitan area, including Manhattan, Long Island and Staten Island

Size:

Approximately 1,500 athletes from more than 60 countries

Dates:

July 19 - August 2, 1998

Sports:

15 sports

                                   Athletics (track and field)
                                   Basketball
                                   Boxing
                                   Cycling (Track)
                                   Diving
                                   Figure skating
                                   Gymnastics
                                   Rhythmic gymnastics
                                   Soccer
                                   Swimming
                                   Synchronized swimming
                                   Triathlon
                                   Volleyball (beach)
                                   Water polo
                                   Wrestling

Prize money:

$5 million in prize money and record/performance incentives will be awarded, creating the largest purse in multi-sport event history.

Competitors:

The world's elite international athletes and teams are invited to participate based on their international standings and performances at major international competitions.

Format:

The Games have their signature, finals-only format for individual events, which means there are no preliminaries or qualification heats. Champions in the team events and boxing are determined through elimination rounds, culminating in a gold-medal match.

Television:

In the United States, TBS Superstation, the Games' host network, will televise three hours of prime-time coverage each night for all the sports. CBS will televise 10 hours of weekend, afternoon coverage (five, two-hour segments).

Television Announcers:

Former professional volleyball player Heather Cox, 1996 Olympic participant and 1998 Goodwill Games participant Sinjin Smith, and three-time Olympian Paul Sunderland will anchor beach volleyball coverage for the Games. Sunderland will handle play-by-play, Cox will serve as mens analyst, and Smith will handle womens analysis.

Gabrielle Reece, professional volleyball player and model, debuts with Turner Sports this summer. The 1995 Beach Volleyball Offensive Player of the Year has worked as a host on MTV Sports.

PRESS RELEASE - April 14th

For Release: April 14

Kiraly, Johnson and Smith to Lead U.S. Beach Volleyball Contingent Into Battle Against World's Top Teams at Central Park's Wollman Rink

Olympic champion Karch Kiraly, pro beach tour star Adam Johnson and five-time world champion Sinjin Smith, plus the No. 1-ranked women's team of Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak, are among the volleyball sensations competing for the United States against teams from 10 countries at the Goodwill Games Beach Volleyball competition in Central Park's Wollman Rink, July 22-August 2. The competition, which consists of men's and women's doubles events, features $200,000 in prize money.

"The caliber of teams and talent that will be showcased at the beach volleyball competition are of the highest level, " said Goodwill Games President Mike Plant. "The athletic competition, against the backdrop of Central Park's Wollman Rink, will provide spectators with a very unique and exciting sports atmosphere."

The format consists of the best teams from the top seven countries in the world, plus one wild-card entry. The U.S. is represented by two teams in the men's and women's competitions as a result of the wild-card entries. Competition pairings and schedules will be announced at a later date.

Teams competing in the men's competition, taking place July 22-26, include: the current No. 1-ranked Brazilians Para and Guilherme, 1997 World Champions; Norwegians Jan Kvalheim and Bjorn Maaseide, 1994 Goodwill Games Champions; Eduardo Martinez and Martin Conde of Argentina; Swiss brothers Martin and Paul Laciga, 1997 Argentina Open Champions; Canadians John Child and Mark Heese, `96 Olympic bronze medalist; Australians Julien Prosser and Leo Zahner; and the American teams of Sinjin Smith and Ricci Luyties and wild-card entry Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson.

Teams in the women's competition, taking place July 29-August 2, include: Brazil's Adriana Behar and Shelda, `97 World Championship bronze medalists; Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak of the U.S., `97 World Championship silver medalists; Germany's Maike Friedrichsen and Danja Musch; Pauline Manser and Kerry-Ann Pottharst of Australia; Italy's Laura Bruschini and Annamaria Solazzi; the Czech Republic's Sona Dosoudilova and Eva Celbova; Canadians Kristine Drakich and Guylaine Dumont; and the wild-card American entry of Karolyn Kirby and Liz Masakayan, defending 1994 Goodwill Games Champions.

"We are extremely pleased to sanction this event that represents the most important Beach Volleyball competition in 1998, " said Dr. Ruben Acosta, FIVB President. "These teams truly define an exceptional, international competition."

The 1998 Goodwill Games, scheduled for July 19-August 2 in the New York metropolitan area (Manhattan, Nassau County and Staten Island), will showcase approximately 1,500 of the world's best athletes from more than 60 countries competing in 15 sports. The competitors, which include numerous world and Olympic champions, will be vying for $5 million in prize money and world record/performance incentives, the largest purse in multi-sport event history.

The 15 sports are: athletics, basketball, boxing, cycling, diving, figure skating, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, soccer, swimming, synchronized swimming, triathlon, volleyball (beach), water polo and wrestling.

TBS Superstation, the Games' host network, will televise 45 hours of prime-time coverage of the 1998 Goodwill Games. CBS will televise 10 hours of weekend, afternoon coverage. In addition to appearing on TBS and CBS, boxing will be televised on HBO as part of the Boxing After Dark series. The 1998 Games mark the first time a sporting event has appeared on all three levels of television distribution. Turner Sports is the host broadcaster and is coordinating all aspects of the production. Internationally, the syndication rights are being sold by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.

The Goodwill Games are hosted through a combined effort between Goodwill Games, Inc. and the participating sports federations, in conjunction with the appropriate state, city and county governmental agencies. Goodwill Games, Inc., a division of Turner Sports and Time Warner, Inc., is responsible for all aspects of the event.

HISTORY

Since their inception in 1986, the Goodwill Games have alternated sites between the U.S. and Russia. The first were held in Moscow in 1986.

Past Goodwill Games sites include Moscow, 1986; Seattle, 1990 and St. Petersburg, Russia, 1994.

Goodwill Games WWW Site

St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, Russia