In Paris 2024, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson have etched their names into history by clinching the silver medal and becoming the first Canadian women’s duo in history to do so. In their wildest dreams, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson would never have imagined that they would be walking out of Paris 2024 with silver medals.
Their resurgence is a fairytale script, considering they were on the brink of going medalless after finishing 1-2 in the preliminary phase.
✨ A night to remember! 👏
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) August 9, 2024
🏐 Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson have made history, winning #TeamCanada’s first Olympic medal in women’s beach volleyball.
All the details 👉 https://t.co/EYmXen8HYw pic.twitter.com/f4ExtNVC4H
They entered the final expecting a very tough ride with world no.1 Ana Patrícia Silva Ramos and Eduarda “Duda” Santos Lisboa at the helm, but the brilliance of Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson nearly pulled off a miracle. Even though the Canadians took the match to a tiebreaker, it wasn’t enough on the day. After losing the first set 26-24, they put up an incredible performance in the second set with a 21-12 victory. Brazil clinched the gold medal with a 15-10 win in the deciding set.
“There’s so many emotions and there’s so much that went behind this – in that game alone, let alone the last two weeks of this tournament, In that game alone, it was a roller coaster and it really tested us and pushed us. And so there’s a huge sense of relief. I think you could see I was just running around. I was just full of energy that needed to get let out.
“I think there’s a lot of pride in what we’ve accomplished and what we’ve done over the last two weeks. We’ve experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and we still have one more day, one more game and we’re not losing sight of that, but it feels really great to secure a medal for Canada.” Humana-Paredes said after defeating the Swiss to Olympic Canada.
Start of Dominance from Paris 2024
Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes are playing their second Olympics, but the first as a duo, and since tying the knot in October 2022, they have been on fire. After making their debut at the Beach Pro Tour in February 2023, they gained instant success with a silver medal at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. With only 18 months between them, they have developed an impeccable chemistry that appears solid in the future.
“It was an emotional roller-coaster, It was hard on our team and really forced us to have deep, hard conversations early on. For me personally, it showed me I don’t have to be playing my best volleyball to make it to an Olympic final. You can still find a way. We showed a lot of people what’s possible and what pure heart and grit means.
“If you’re just going to fight to the end, that’s what will help win you games.” Melissa said to National Post
They are ranked 7th currently but defeated 2nd ranked USA in the round of 16, then Spain in the quarterfinals, and then the Swiss team in the semifinals. Ironically, Brazil won their first gold in beach volleyball since 1996 Atalanta, the same year Canada won their first beach volleyball medal.
