Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson earn silver for Canada in beach volleyball

PARIS — Canada's remarkable run to the beach volleyball final at the Paris Games ended with a match that had it all.

The only thing missing for Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes was a victory.

The Toronto duo dropped a 2-1 (26-24, 12-21, 15-10) decision to Brazil on Friday but still became the first Canadian women to reach the Olympic podium in the sport.

The silver medal came after a 1-2 start in pool play and qualification via a lucky-loser match earlier in the tournament.

"We showed a lot of people what's possible," Humana-Paredes said. "And we showed a lot of people what just pure heart and grit and the intangibles of sport means."

The gold-medal match featured multiple set points, great rallies, a tiebreaker - even an on-court dust-up - before Ana Patricia Ramos and Eduarda Santos (Duda) Lisboa nailed down their first Olympic title.

Despite the loss, the Canadians were beaming after their history-making run at Eiffel Tower Stadium. The only other Canadian medal was a men's bronze at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

"I am absolutely thrilled to make history in Canada for beach volleyball," Wilkerson said. "That's something that's keeping my head held high."

Canada charged out to an 8-2 lead as the top-ranked Brazilians seemed unsettled. A Ramos block - complete with finger wag - cut the Canadian lead to five at 13-8.

Both teams had set points but Brazil converted on its fourth opportunity.

In the second set, Humana-Paredes made a dig and followed with an emphatic conversion to give Canada an 11-10 lead entering the technical timeout.

Canada continued to apply pressure thanks to its strong defensive effort and effective net play. A Humana-Paredes ace made it 18-11 and Canada rolled into the tiebreaker.

Brazil responded early in the decider and led 12-7 in the first-to-15 set. Tensions rose though when Wilkerson saw her family members in the stands and was "cheering at them" after earning the point.

Ramos took exception and all four players started jawing at each other across the net. The on-court referee got in the middle of the altercation to keep things from escalating.

"She thought I was cheering at her, but I was looking past her," Wilkerson said, calling it a miscommunication that was hugged out after the match.

The on-site DJ got in on the fun by playing John Lennon's "Imagine" on the loudspeakers. The players eventually smiled and the sellout crowd lapped it up.

"They played the song, which was hilarious," said Wilkerson, who was given a yellow card. "I think it was just a moment for everyone to take a breath and reset. I think it worked to our advantage."

Canada chipped away at the deficit but Brazil eventually took control and completed the win on the second match point.

A Ramos spike deflected off Wilkerson's hands and the celebration was on for hundreds of vocal Brazilian supporters. It was Brazil's first women's gold since the Atlanta Games.

"We're fighting for the same thing," Wilkerson said. "There's only one gold medal and there's two teams going for it."

The seventh-ranked Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson reached the final after a comeback victory a day earlier against Tanja Hueberli and Nina Brunner of Switzerland. They saved a match ball in the three-set semifinal win.

The top-ranked Brazilians also beat the Canadians in a tightly contested Pan Am Games final last year in Santiago, Chile.

Earlier Friday, Hueberli and Brunner defeated Australia's Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar 21-17, 21-15 for the bronze medal.

The men's medal matches were scheduled for Saturday. Sweden was to play Germany for gold and Norway was to face Qatar for bronze.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2024.

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