U.S. beach volleyball duo Cheng, Hughes win world title, clinch Olympic quota spot
Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes of the United States won gold at the beach volleyball world championships with a straight-sets win over the defending champions on Sunday in Mexico.
The third-ranked duo dethroned top-ranked Brazilians Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda “Duda” Santos Lisboa, capturing the world title with a 21-16, 24-22 win over the previously undefeated pair in Tlaxcala.
Featured VideoWatch Eduarda “Duda” Santos Lisboa and Ana Patrícia Ramos of Brazil face Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng of the United States in the women’s final of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Tlaxcala, Mexico.
On the men’s side, the Czech duo of Ondrej Perusic and David Schweine topped the podium by defeating Sweden’s David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig 2-1 (21-15, 17-21, 15-13) earlier in the day.
The women’s and men’s champions both earned quota spots for their respective countries at Paris 2024 and a share of the $1 million purse.
Featured VideoWatch Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner of the Czech Republic face David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden in the men’s final of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Tlaxcala, Mexico.
Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth of the U.S. claimed the women’s bronze medal with a 2-1 win over Australia’s Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solarin, while the men’s bronze went to Poland’s Michal Bryl and Bartosz Losiak with a sweep of Americans Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb.
Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson finished fifth as the top Canadians after falling in straight sets to Clancy and Artacho del Solarin the women’s quarterfinals on Friday in Apizaco.
The fourth-ranked Toronto duo had won five straight matches without surrendering a set, but they lost the battle of unbeatens 22-20, 21-16.
The world championships were a good opportunity for teams to pick up points and improve their world ranking, with the top 17 teams in each gender automatically qualifying for the Olympics. With the fifth-place finish, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson should retain their top-10 ranking.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson will join fellow Canadians Jake MacNeil and Alex Russell at the upcoming Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, with the beach volleyball tournaments taking place Oct. 21 to 27 at the Parque Peñalolen. The Games do not factor into qualification for Paris.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson are also set to compete at the Elite 16 event in João Pessoa, Brazil, running Nov. 22 to 26.
Featured VideoWatch Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson take on Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy of Australia, in the women’s quarterfinals at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Apizaco, Mexico.
