Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson of Toronto, Ontario won the silver medal on Sunday in the Elite 16 women’s beach volleyball event in Ostrava, Czech Republic. It was the second medal of 2024 for Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson in an Elite 16 event. They previously won silver in Doha, Qatar on March 9.
In the semifinals on Sunday, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson beat Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia 21-18, 21-18. Humana-Paredes had 18 points and Wilkerson had 13 points. Of Humana-Paredes’s 18 points, 17 were attack points and one was an ace. Meanwhile, of Wilkerson’s 13 points, nine were attack points, three were block points and one point was an ace.
In the final, Canada faced the United States and lost two sets to one. The American team were the reigning world champions of Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng, who won the women’s event at the 2023 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Mexico. On Sunday, Hughes and Cheng beat Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson 21-13, 21-23, 15-12. The bronze medal went to Graudina and Samoilova, as they beat Ana Patricia Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa of Brazil 21-18, 21-19 in the third place game.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson are currently ranked fourth in the world. They are behind Ramos and Santos Lisboa, who are first, the American duo of Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, who are second, and Hughes and Cheng, who are third. The silver medal for Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
