Humana-Paredes, Pavan continue beach volleyball golden streak
Canadian squad previously won gold at Commonwealth Games
Canada's Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes won gold at the Xiamen Open, defeating USA's Brittany Hochevar and Kelly Claes, 2-0 (21-19, 21-14) on Sunday.
Pavan, Kitchener, Ont., and Humana-Paredes, from Toronto, entered Xiamen on a high after winning gold during this month's Commonwealth Games.
"We are beyond proud to stand atop the podium in back-to-back events," said Humana-Paredes. "This week was all about heart and grit. We battled all week long and came back when we had every opportunity to fall. To be able to play at a high level consistently is what we strive to do, so we're pleased to know we're heading in the right direction."
In the semifinal, Pavan and Humana-Paredes beat the Brazilian pair of Eduarda Santos Lisboa and Agatha Bednarczuk. Pavan and Humana-Parades were previously 1-2 against the Brazilian squad, but weren't stopped today after winning in straight sets (21-19, 21-14).
"This is what we trained for, our goal for the season was to win more golds and this is one to add to our collection," said Pavan.
The bronze-medal match saw Australia's Mariafe Del Solar Artacho and Taliqua Clancy defeat Agatha and Duda from Brazil.
The other Canadian female team of Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson finished ranked 25th.
On the men's side, Commonwealth Games silver medallists Sam Pedlow and Sam Schachter finished ninth after losing to Poland in the playoffs. Fellow Canadians Grant O'Gorman and Ben Saxton ended up 17th.