A steady rain. Nippy air. Water-soaked sand.

Hardly a day at the beach.

But that didn't ruin the morning (Wednesday night, U.S. time) for Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, who won their second consecutive Olympic gold medal with a 21-18, 21-18 victory against China's Wang Jie and Tian Jia, the exclamation point on another perfect run.

The pair never lost a set to become the first team - men's or women's - to repeat as Olympic champions.

It was the team's 108th consecutive win.

When it was over, Walsh flew around the court, hugging volunteers, officials, fans and anyone else within reach at Chaoyang Park volleyball complex, where fans huddled under umbrellas and waved water-soaked flags.

"The last two weeks, we tried to ignore the pressure of defending the gold medal. The world has gotten so much better. The teams are so much better than four years ago," said Walsh, 30. "It's awesome, so awesome.

"The ball was really wet and slimy. You really have to take care of the ball. I'm so proud to be associated with (May-Treanor). She makes me a better person and player. We have something special; I hope we don't stop after we have babies."

The Chinese attempted to keep the ball from Walsh, even though the 6-foot-3 veteran was forced to wear special tape to ease the pain of a surgically repaired right shoulder.

But May-Treanor stepped up in crunch time and picked up three straight kills with the score tied 17-17.

In the second set, May-Treanor came up with another decisive kill shortly after the Chinese had pulled ahead 15-14.

It was hard work. The steady rain made for a heavy ball, and the stands were filled with Chinese fans.

But May-Treanor and Walsh used a familiar game plan: rely on their experience to keep the ball in play and force the opponent to make mistakes, especially in crunch time, when fatigue becomes a factor.

In their typical way, they also anticipated one another's moves and thoughts, turning potential setbacks into points that seemed to demoralize their younger opponents.

"They're a lot better than us," Wang said.

Earlier in the day, Xue Chen and Zhang Xi won China's first medal in the sport, beating Brazilians Talita and Renata 21-19, 21-17.

"Today, we have created a historical breakthrough," Tian said.

Walsh and May-Treanor came together as a team in 2001 and haven't lost a match in the TV-friendly sport in a year, though the conditions weren't too friendly in the gold-medal match.

"I liked the (conditions), except when you looked up you got blinded," said May-Treanor, wife of Florida Marlins catcher Matt Treanor.