The reigning champions, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, secured two victories on Thursday during the Montreal Elite event of the FIVB Beach Pro Tour.
The pair from Toronto triumphed over Brazil’s Carolina Horta and Ana Patricia Ramos with a score of 21-12, 21-12 in their first match, and followed this with a 21-13, 21-16 win against the Lithuanian team consisting of Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson are aiming for their third consecutive title after clinching victories in both 2023 and 2025.
Olympic silver medallist Melissa Humana-Paredes joins Donnovan Bennett to discuss Canada’s road to LA 2028, competing on home soil in Montreal, and the growth of women’s sports.
The year 2024 saw no event in Montreal, during which Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson reached the gold medal match in beach volleyball at the Paris Olympics, ultimately losing to Ramos and her teammate Eduarda (Duda) Lisboa.
On Thursday, the Toronto pair gained a form of revenge, outperforming the Brazilians with a total of 26-18 in attack points and dominating serves with an 8-1 advantage.
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Canadian Olympian Humana-Paredes has her eyes on LA28, but she’s embracing being home
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Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson capture elusive gold medal at Ostrava beach volleyball tourney
Lea Monkhouse from Mississauga, Ontario, along with local favorite Marie-Alex Belanger from Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, Quebec, faced a 21-15, 21-15 defeat against Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova.
In the men’s category, Samuel Schachter from Richmond Hill, Ontario, and Jonathan Pickett from Wiarton, Ontario, managed to split their two matches, while Cameron Chadwick from Barrie, Ontario, and Steven Abrams from Georgetown, Ontario, lost both of their matches.
The competition will continue until Sunday at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
