01/10/00: Tibor Benedek, who nearly missed the Games because of a drugs ban, led Hungary to Olympic water polo gold today, scoring four goals as his team routed Russia 13-6 in a final which evoked memories of the Cold War.

When Hungary and Russia last met in an Australian Olympics at the 1956 Melbourne Games, Soviet troops had invaded Hungary only weeks before to crush a revolt against communist rule and their match ended in a brawl. Hungary won the gold and the Soviet Union the bronze.

There was no such drama in the Sydney final, with the Hungarians taking charge after Benedek scored the first goal late in the first quarter and turning it into one of the most one-sided finals ever.

Benedek would have missed the Olympics if a 15-month ban dating from August 1999 and imposed by the sport's governing body FINA had stood.

FINA had overruled an eight-month suspension set by the Italian federation when the player tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol at a match involving his Italian club Roma. But in January this year the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the suspension on appeal to eight months.

Benedek was ably abetted in the firing line by Gergely Kiss, who scored three goals, and Attila Vari and Tamas Molnar, who netted two each. Tamas Kasas and Peter Biros were Hungary's other scorers with one apiece.

Alexander Erychov was Russia's top scorer with three goals in the final.

Yugoslavia took the bronze medals, winning 8-3 in the match for third place against 1996 champions Spain, who lost their Olympic title when they were beaten 8-7 by Russia in the semifinals on Saturday.

The match marked the international farewell of Spain's Manuel Estiarte, who turns 39 later this month and has played at six Olympics, making a total of 601 appearances for his country.

Estiarte, who scored twice on Sunday, entered the international arena 23 years ago at the 1977 European championships. He made his Olympic debut in Moscow in 1980 and played a major part in getting Spain to two finals. They took the silver in 1992 and the gold in 1996.

Hungary, who lost two of their preliminary round matches in Sydney, were superb in the final.

In their 1956 clash with the Russians, the brawling game was abandoned, with the Hungarians leading 4-0. Police, fearing a riot, moved in when spectators turned on the Soviet team. Hungary retained the Olympic title that year and won again in 1964 and 1976.

The Soviet Union won the gold and Hungary the silver at the 1972 Munich Games and the Soviet team won again in 1980.

Sunday's encounter was the first time either team had appeared in an Olympic water polo final since then.

The Hungarians came through a bitter quarter-final clash with 1992 Olympic champions Italy which ended with a furious outburst from Italy coach Ratko Rudic and several of his players.

Rudic was banned by FINA for a year, covering the rest of these Olympics and all competitions organised by FINA, for bringing the game into disrepute when he accused the referees of bias.

The Sydney Games also saw the first Olympic women's water polo tournament, which was won by the Australian hosts, who beat the U.S. in the final eight days ago. -Reuters