June 15, 2021: Canada officially has two women’s beach volleyball teams heading to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, taking place July 24 to August 8, 2021.
Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan enter the Tokyo Games as the top-ranked team, while Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson just earned their spot, finishing ninth in the rankings.
Humana-Paredes and Pavan punched their ticket with a historic win at the 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, earning Canada’s first-ever medal in the tournament. They have maintained their spot on top of the world ranking thanks to a pair of both gold and silver medals at the FIVB World Tour, and five other top-five finishes.
With the Olympic qualification period officially ending on June 13, Bansley and Wilkerson earned their spot in the Games by finishing within the top-15 teams in the world. This is based on the Olympic ranking which takes into account the 12 best performances for each team. Bansley and Wilkerson earned one FIVB World Tour bronze medal, adding six top-10 finishes.
This will be Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson’s first trip to the Olympic Games, while Pavan and Bansley placed fifth at the 2016 Rio Games as partners.
On the men’s side, Canadian pairs Grant O’Gorman and Ben Saxton and Sam Pedlow and Sam Schachter will fight for a spot in the 2020 Olympics at the NORCECA Continental Cup Final from June 24 to June 27 in Mexico.
– FIVB Olympic Ranking (Women): https://www.fivb.com/en/beachvolleyball/rankingwomen
– FIVB Olympic Ranking (Men): https://www.fivb.com/en/beachvolleyball/rankingmen
Volleyball Canada media contact:
Jackie Skender
Mobile: 613.794.7676
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