BEIJING, CHINA - Brazil's stunning charge to the women's Olympic volleyball final here in Athens has finally buried the demons of four years ago in Athens.

Back then, like now, they were considered the gold medal favourites but when it came to the crunch, they faltered, losing their heads with victory in sight and eventually went home empty handed.

In the semi-finals against Russia they led by two sets to one and 24-19 - giving them five match points in a row.

It was a painful blow for a team led by Jose Guimaraes, who had guided Brazil's men to the Olympic crown in 1992 in Barcelona and was hoping for a unique double.

For a team which has dominated the World Grand Prix - a league format competition where the top teams all play each other - Brazil have surprisingly always faltered in knock-out competition.

They have seven out of 16 Grand Prix titles, far more than anyone else, including four of the last five.

Yet they have never won either the World Championships or the World Cup and until Thursday had never even reached an Olympic final.

There have been hints of their mental fragility over the last two years as they lost the World Championship final to Russia in 2006 and a year later lost the World Cup final to Italy.

But here they have been simply majestic, not even dropping a single set in seven matches.

And they seem to have now added steel to their armoury.

Against China in the semi-final they fell 5-1 down in the first set and even had a set point against them later on.

But they gritted their teeth, battled hard and took it 27-25 before going on to impose themselves 25-22 and 25-14 in the next two sets.

'For me our group is very strong. Four years ago we deserved to be in the Olympic final,' said star spiker Sheila Castro, who top scored for her team with 17 points from 13 spikes and four blocks.

She also claimed that the team has overcome the self-doubt that dogged it in the past.

'No-one thought that we would lose this match, we had a winning mentality,' she added.

But despite their stunning form and faultless progress, if Brazil were to lose to surprise finalists the United States on Saturday, the knockers would rear their heads again and claim that nothing has changed.

Despite their delight, they're not getting carried away, although captain Helia Souza believes they're better equipped than four years ago.

'Compared with four years ago we're stronger,' said the 38-year-old veteran. 'We've come back with a new team, we're more balanced and more confident and we've improved.'

But Guimaraes is sure to keep their feet on the ground and he brushed aside questions about whether or not this group of players was the best he has ever coached.

And he was adamant that the job has been only half done.

'It's tough to say if they're the best or not. Until now they've played very well throughout the whole competition.

'The US have come up and this week, they beat Italy who are a very strong team and then they beat Cuba 3-0.

'We have to move on to tomorrow and talk with the players and take care. We have many things to do.'