Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won their second straight gold medal in women’s beach volleyball Thursday, a 21-18, 21-18 victory over the Chinese duo of Tian Jia and Wang Jie. The contest was every bit as close as the final score indicated. The biggest lead by either team was three points.

May-Treanor and Walsh were not the top seed in the tournament. That honor belonged, instead, to Tian and Wang, who have helped establish a sport that is in its nascent stages of development in China.

May-Treanor and Walsh have 69 straight international victories, 108 consecutive wins overall. Their most recent loss came last fall in Boston, and they did not lose a set during their seven-match romp through the Olympic tournament.

In the medal ceremony afterward, Wang and Tian congratulated their countrywomen, Xue Chen and Zhang Xi, who beat the Brazilians for bronze. The host country had two medals in beach volleyball, their first ever in the sport.

Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times

Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Bush made a surprise visit to the beach volleyball venue, where he watched the U.S. men’s and women’s teams practice.

Here he is with the 2004 gold medal winners Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. The bikini-clad players eventually drew him on to the court to participate in a warm-up drill bumping the volleyball back and forth.

May-Treanor bent over and offered the President a chance to give her a spank on the ass (you know, the whole “nice play” thing people do in sports these days…), instead, he playfully used the back of his hand to tap her on the small of her back. Missed opportunity I’d say.

Looks like President Bush might just be a fan. Cheerleader-in-chief?