Canada celebrated a remarkable achievement in beach volleyball recently as both the men’s and women’s teams clinched gold medals and secured their places in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The victories came at the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Mexico. Heather Bansley from Waterdown, Ontario, and Sophie Bukovec from Toronto, who have been playing together for just under a year, triumphed in the women’s category, remaining undefeated throughout the tournament. In the final match, Bansley and Bukovec defeated Mexico’s Atenas Gutierrez and Susana Torres with a score of 2-0 (21-16, 21-17).
This will be Bansley’s third Olympic appearance (having competed in 2016 and 2020), but it will be the first for her new partner, Bukovec. “I’m just really proud. We came here with the goal of qualifying for Paris and we accomplished just that,” Bansley expressed.
“It’s been a crazy 11 months for our team, and it’s incredible that we were able to qualify. I’m so proud of Sophie. If you asked me a year ago if we would be here, it was probably a crazy dream. It’s incredible,” Bansley added.
In the men’s final, Samuel Schachter from Richmond Hill, Ontario, and Daniel Dearing from Toronto, overpowered Mexico’s Juan Virgen and Ricardo Galindo with a decisive 2-0 (21-13, 21-13) victory. “We played with a lot of joy today, I actually enjoyed the game,” said Schachter. “We were in the moment. This was a team win, and we had so much support. Today, we were really able to focus on the right things and were able to manage the moment. I can’t wait to represent our country.”
Schachter previously competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics with then-partner Josh Binstock. Dearing, although new to the Olympics, is a Commonwealth Games silver medallist with Schachter.
With these wins, three Canadian beach volleyball teams have now qualified for the Paris Games. Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson had already secured their spot through their strong standing in the women’s World Rankings. The Canadian Olympic Committee will officially nominate and announce the beach volleyball teams as part of Team Canada.