SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Police sprayed a chemical substance Saturday night to disperse thousands of fans waiting outside the already-packed volleyball arena before the Pan American Games gold medal game between Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
The arena, which holds about 8,000, was nearly full two hours earlier as the U.S. women beat Brazil for the bronze medal. When that match ended, fans were sitting in aisles and on the floor, and armed policemen and militia were walking through the building with guard dogs.
Dominican authorities said many of the people outside the arena had tickets, but there was no room for them inside. When the spray was used, it seeped into the arena and both teams were forced to stop practicing and go back to the locker rooms.
Police said they did not use tear gas Saturday, but would not identify the substance that was sprayed.
Earlier in the games, the basketball arena was the scene of a similar problem before the Dominican men played Brazil for gold, although police never were forced to intervene.
The fans rooted loudly for the Americans as they beat won the bronze 25-23, 25-19, 17-25, 25-19 against a team that swept them in the round-robin. Wiz Bachman of Lakeville, Minn., led the United States with 18 points and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) added 17.
"I've definitely been in packed houses, but not like this," Bachman said "You look around and there are no empty seats and the stairways are filled."
The Americans were impressed by the fans who waved U.S. flags and chanted "U-S-A, U-S-A."
"It's very good," Bachman said "You never know how the crowd is going to react. We had a warm feeling when they were shooting for the U.S."
Americans swept the archery team competitions, led by their individual gold medalists, Jennifer Nichols (Cheyenne, Wyo.) and Vic Wunderle (Mason City, Ill.). And there were two titles in kayaking.
Aaron Garcia of Vista, Calif., went after gold in boxing at night. And the dominant swimmers expected another golden haul at the pool.
The men's archery squad of Wunderle, Guy Krueger (Blessing, Texas) and Glenn Meyers (Grand Rapids, Mich.) beat Mexico for the gold, 245-237.
"Our mission was the quest for the gold, and our mission was accomplished," men's coach Tom Parrish said.
Nichols (Cheyenne, Wyo.), bronze medalist Stephanie Miller (Naperville, Ill.) and Janet Dykman (El Monte, Calif.) beat Mexico, as well.
"This feels awesome," womens coach Cindy Bevilacqua said. "They worked hard and it paid off; I knew they had it in them. We did what we set out to accomplish and we can move forward to Athens now."
Ruth Nortje (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) and Kathy Colin (Kailua, Hawaii) each earned gold medals in kayaking. Nortje won the 500-meter singles race, and the two won easily in the women's doubles.