CANADIAN BEACH VOLLEYBALLERS MAKE HISTORY
Canadians Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes made history Thursday, dispatching an Australian pair to become the first women to win beach volleyball gold at the Commonwealth Games.
Ranked No. 1 in the world by the FIVB, the Canadians had to battle wind and rain as well as resilient opponents in Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar to triumph 21-19, 22-20.
The Canadians fought off a set point at 20-19 in the final set and put the Aussies away with a gut-busting final point that saw 17 touches of the ball and some miraculous saves on either side of the net. When it was done, the five-foot-nine Humana-Paredes jumped into the arms of the sixfoot-five Pavan to celebrate putting their names in the games record book.
“It feels amazing,” said Pavan, a 31-year-old from Kitchener, Ont. “To be the first gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games for beach volleyball is such an honour. And we’ve made history. Hopefully this will continue to be an event in the Commonwealth Games but there’s nothing like the first.”
Canadians Sam Schachter and Sam Pedlow had to settle for silver, losing the men’s final 21-19, 18-21, 18-16 to Australians Chris McHugh and Damien Schumann in an entertaining nail-biter that lasted 61 minutes.
Wrestler Erica Wiebe defended her 76-kilogram crown Thursday, defeating Nigeria’s Blessing Onyebuchi to win gold.
The 28-year-old from Stittsville, Ont., who also won Olympic gold in Rio, beat opponents from Sierra Leone and England en route to pinning the Nigerian in the freestyle gold-medal match.
In all, Canada won two gold, a silver and a bronze on the first day of the wrestling competition.
Diana Weicker of St. Catharines, Ont., also won gold in the 53-kilogram Nordic class at the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre. Steven Takahashi of London, Ont., took a silver in the 57-kilogram class, losing 15-7 to India’s Rahul Aware.
And Toronto’s Jevon Balfour, a silver medallist four years ago in Glasgow, picked up a bronze with a 14-4 win over Australian Connor Evans in the 74-kilogram class.
With two days of competition remaining, Canada’s boxers have assured themselves of six medals at the Commonwealth Games.
Marie-Jeanne Parent has already earned bronze after her semifinal loss Wednesday. Five other fighters are still alive in the competition, looking to upgrade the colour of their medals.
Montreal’s Eric Basran (56 kilograms), Thomas Blumenfeld (64 kilograms) and Harley-David O’Reilly (81 kilograms), Sabrina Aubin of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., (57 kilograms) and Montreal’s Tammara Thibeault (75 kilograms) fight their semifinals Friday.