Canadian Olympic silver medalists Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson of Toronto, Ontario teamed up to win the silver medal on Sunday at the Elite16 Women’s Beach Volleyball event in Saquarema, Brazil. Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson reached the final before losing 21-15, 21-15 to Kristen Cruz and Taryn Brasher of the United States.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson won Pool D with a perfect record of three wins and zero losses. They defeated Annique Niederhauser and Menia Bentele of Switzerland 21-12, 21-16, and Verena Figueira and Thainara Feitosa of Brazil 21-15, 21-19 on April 9, and Sandra Ittlinger and Anna-Lena Grune of Germany 21-16, 21-14 on April 10. In pool play, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson were the only team in the entire tournament not to lose a set.
Then in the knockout round on Saturday, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson beat Aline Chamereau and Clemence Vieira of France 21-14, 21-13 in the round of 16, and Thamela Coradello Galil and Victoria Lopes Pereira Tosta of Brazil 22-24, 21-10, 15-10 in the quarterfinals. Then in the semifinals, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson beat Carol Solberg and Rebecca Cavalcanti of Brazil, the second ranked team in the world, 18-21, 21-17, 15-12.
This was the first podium finish for Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson at an Elite 16 event since they won in Montreal this past summer. Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson won the silver medal in women’s beach volleyball at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. They are currently ranked sixth in the world.
