Paris silver medallists Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson set sights on Hollywood ending at next Olympics

The scene was straight out of a sports movie.

It was the women's beach volleyball final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, played under the lights beneath the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in mid-August.

On one side stood Brazil's Ana Patricia Ramos and Eduarda Santos (Duda) Lisboa, a top team from a powerhouse country.

Across from them lingered Canada's Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson. The Toronto-born duo was not expected to find itself in that moment — a mere 18 tournaments over two years together had shown itself with a 1-2 record in group play.

But Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson rallied to win a lucky loser match, rolled through the first two rounds of the knockout stage, then won a three-setter in the semis to buck the odds and reach the final.

Still, the Canadians entered as underdogs.

Then, fireworks: a closely contested first set ended with a 26-24 Brazilian win, but the Canadians returned fire with a dominant 21-12 second-set victory. Along the way, Wilkerson and Ramos jawed like NHLers in a playoff scrum, prompting the in-game DJ to cheekily play John Lennon's Imagine.

After a narrow third set, Ramos and Duda emerged with the Olympic title, ruining the Canadians' Hollywood ending.

WATCH | Canada takes silver in women's beach volleyball after loss to Brazil:

Canada takes silver in women’s beach volleyball after loss to Brazil

Speaking eight months later, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson were both still grappling with the duality of claiming Canada's first-ever women's medal in the sport while ending their tournament with a loss.

"It was so much that led up to that point, not even just the two weeks at the Olympics," Humana-Paredes said. "When you're so close to being at the top and fighting for what you have