Beach volleyball stars Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson qualify for ’28 Olympics

VEGA BAJA — Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson’s pursuit of Olympic gold took a big step forward on Sunday.

The Toronto athletes won the NORCECA Continental Beach Volleyball Olympic qualifier on Sunday, beating Americans Kelly Cheng and Megan Kraft 21-16, 27-25 in the championship final.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson are 2024 Olympic silver medallists — Canada’s only women’s medal at an Olympic Games in beach volleyball. Both players were also at Tokyo 2020, but with different partners.

“It feels incredible to have secured something of this magnitude at this point in the season, and in the Olympic qualification process,” said Humana-Paredes. “This tournament was really hard for us, so just winning always feels good and having that extra bonus of qualifying for the Olympics is wonderful. We can go into our off-season knowing that we did great work, and we’ll prepare for the next season.”

Earlier, Sam Schachter of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Jonny Pickett of Wiarton, Ont., lost the semifinal to Americans Trevor Crabb and Chase Budinger 21-19, 21-18.

Canada went on to win the third-place match over Puerto Rico 21-9, 21-15, but missed out on the Olympic berth on the men’s side. The U.S. won the men’s Olympic spot by beating Mexico in the final.

Twenty-four teams of each gender will end up in LA 2028. Countries can still qualify through the FIVB Olympic Ranking, the 2027 World Championships and the 2028 Olympic Qualifier Series.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2026.

The Canadian Press