Olympics: Fear not, bikinis galore in beach volleyball opener

Fear not, fans of the beach volleyball bikini.

Play opened at Horse Guards Parade on Saturday with a sand temperature of 19 degrees Celsius - yes, they keep track of such things - and the women all went with the sport's traditional uniform.

Talk of cold weather stoked fears that the women would go for shorts and T-shirts. But the Russians and Chinese were in skimpy suits for the opening match, as were the Germans and Czechs an hour later.

It was a raucous start for beach volleyball at the London Games. Dancers in bathing suits entertained during timeouts, and rock music nearly drowned out nearby Big Ben's chimes.

The play was exciting, too: Russians Anastasia Vasina and Anna Vozakova upset Beijing bronze medalists Zhang Xi and Xue Chen in three sets.