Brazil’s Ana Patricia Silva Ramos And Edwarda ‘Duda’ Santos Lisbon won gold in beach volleyball, defeating the Canadian team of Brandie Wilkerson And Melissa Humana-Paredes 2:1 under the Eiffel Tower on Friday, August 9th in Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Under a glowing Eiffel Tower with the words “I ❤️ Paris” written in the sand, the women’s beach volleyball match for the gold medal was exciting and at times tense.
Canada got off to a strong start, but Brazil’s power and precise shots gave them the win in the first set. Canada fought back in the second set and for the first time in a women’s beach volleyball gold medal match, there was a third set.
This is where tensions arose. Duda and Wilkerson disagreed on a decision in the third set and began exchanging words and gestures at the net. Their partners acted as peacemakers, as did the arena’s DJ, who played “Imagine” by John Lennon. Wilkerson returned to serving position after receiving a yellow card. When tempers calmed down, fans waved their arms in the air and even the Canadian had to laugh.
The commotion seemed to focus Duda and Ana Patricia, who quickly scored 15 points to secure the win. The gold medal was the first for Brazilian women’s beach volleyball since 1996. For Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes, the silver medal was the first ever for Canadian women in the sport.
In an earlier action, Switzerland Tanja Huberli And Nina Brunner won 2-0 against Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar And Taliqua Clancy and secured the bronze medal for Switzerland.
