Canada earns gold, bronze at beach volleyball's Gstaad Major
Pavan, Humana-Paredes defeat Germany for gold; Bansley, Wilkerson take bronze
Entering Sunday's Gstaad Major beach volleyball tournament in Switzerland, there was a possibility of an all-Canadian showdown in the final.
While those hopes were dashed, Canada came away from the FIVB event with a gold and bronze medal.
Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes defeated Julia Sude and Chantal Laboureur of Germany 2-1 (21-17, 12-21, 17-15) in the gold-medal game.
The Germans held match point at 15-14, but Canada responded by scoring three straight points for the win against the defending champions.
Congratulations <a href="https://twitter.com/SarahPavan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SarahPavan</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/melissa_hp10?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@melissa_hp10</a> - <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GstaadMajor?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GstaadMajor</a> 2018 women's champions! 🇨🇦🏆🥇<br><br>Watch all the action again on <a href="https://t.co/uK9jJeztA0">https://t.co/uK9jJeztA0</a> <a href="https://t.co/8M2IBygWof">pic.twitter.com/8M2IBygWof</a>
—@BeachMajorsThe Canadian duo picked up 1,200 points and $40,000 US for their efforts.
This marks the third FIVB gold medal and second beach major series title for Pavan and Humana-Paredes.
Pavan and Humana-Paredes booked their spot in the final by beating the Brazilian side of Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda Santos Lisboa 2-1 earlier Sunday.
Bronze for Bansley and Brandie! 🥉<a href="https://twitter.com/HeatherBansley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HeatherBansley</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandieWilks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrandieWilks</a> at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GstaadMajor?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GstaadMajor</a> 🇨🇦<a href="https://twitter.com/VBallCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VBallCanada</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamCanada</a> <a href="https://t.co/fVQwZa04nB">pic.twitter.com/fVQwZa04nB</a>
—@BeachMajorsHeather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson were on the other side of the bracket, but the Canadians dropped their semifinal match against Sude and Laboureur 2-1.
However, the duo responded by blanking Bednarczuk and Lisboa in the third-place match.
Bansley and Wilkerson added 840 points to their total and collected $16,000.
Overall, Canada secured two women's medals at the same World Tour event for the first time.
With files from The Canadian Press