Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson team up in Paris as part of Olympic beach volleyball team

Silver medal winners Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Canada, show off their medals as they pose for photo at the podium of the women's beach volleyball, at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Esteban Felix

TORONTO — After competing with different partners at the Tokyo Games, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson are joining forces this summer at the Paris Olympics.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson, both from Toronto, were part of Canada's Olympic beach volleyball team announced Friday by Volleyball Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Heather Bansley of Waterdown, Ont., Toronto's Sophie Bukovec, Samuel Schachter of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Toronto's Daniel Dearing were also named to the squad.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson are currently ranked fourth in the world and recently won silver at the Ostrava Elite 16 event in Czechia

"We have been preparing and looking forward to this moment since we embarked on this journey together less than two years ago," Humana- Paredes said in a release. "When we got together, our goals were clear: making history in Paris."

Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes had to work quickly to gear up for a run to Paris after teaming up two months before the qualification window opened.

"As a new team we didn’t have much time before needing to execute in order to get Olympic points," Humana-Paredes said. "We knew what the team was capable of and quickly we made our presence known, meeting our standards every chance we got."

Bansley is back in action after briefly retiring after the Tokyo Olympics, where she and Wilkerson advanced to the quarterfinals following an upset of third-ranked Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil of the United States. She will team up with Bukovec in Paris.

Humana-Parades and Sarah Pavan also advanced to the quarterfinals in Tokyo before being upset by Australians Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson earned an Olympic spot based on their world ranking.

Schachter and Dearing secured the men’s continental spot and Bansley and Bukovec won the women’s continental berth at the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Tlaxcala, Mexico. Both teams went undefeated throughout the tournament without dropping one set.

“I am incredibly grateful to be returning to the Olympics for the second time, especially after just missing out on qualifying for Tokyo. I have a renewed appreciation for how difficult it is to have the opportunity to represent your country at the Olympics,” said Schachter, who also represented Canada at the 2016 Rio Games.

Beach volleyball will take place July 27 to Aug. 10 at the Eiffel Tower Stadium.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press