The Canadian beach volleyball pair Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson clinched the bronze medal at the Montreal Elite16 tournament held on home turf. The 2024 Olympic silver medalists triumphed over Germany’s Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann in a close match with scores of 20-22, 21-12, and 18-16. Wilkerson dominated with 32 attack points, 5 block points, and a crucial serve point, while Humana-Paredes contributed 9 attack points. The game had a temporary halt due to inclement weather but resumed shortly after.
In the semifinals, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson faced a setback, losing to Brazil’s Thamela Galil and Victoria Tosta in a tough 21-19, 20-22, 15-7 match earlier in the day. Despite missing out on a potential three-peat victory, the Canadian duo bounced back to secure the bronze against the same German opponents.
Previously, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson had claimed the Montreal titles in 2023 and 2025, sandwiching their Olympic silver medal from the Paris Games. In a separate event, the Canadian men’s team of Sam Schachter and Jonathan Pickett staged a remarkable comeback to secure the men’s bronze medal. They defeated Norway’s Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen after dropping the first set 16-21 but rallied to win the next two sets 28-26 and 15-12, marking their first podium finish together on home ground.
Schachter and Pickett caused an upset by defeating the top-ranked duo to reach the men’s semifinals, where they narrowly lost to Brazil’s Renato Andrew Lima de Carvalho and André Loyola Stein. This achievement added to their impressive performance in the tournament.
