Canada’s Olympic beach volleyball duo of Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes may have fallen short of taking home gold at the Summer Games, but their silver medal-worthy performance in Paris helped them garner a ton of new fans — from all corners of the globe.
Despite a tough loss to Brazil and some heated exchanges on the court last Friday, Humana-Paredes experienced a heartwarming moment on a Parisian street corner after the match concluded in three sets.
In a touching display of sportsmanship, Brazilian fans greeted the Canadian athlete with overwhelming support following her country’s defeat in the Olympic final. Humana-Paredes was surrounded by a crowd of fans who had come to celebrate their team’s victory.
Clearly touched by the emotional moment, the 31-year-old Toronto native shared a video of the scene to her Instagram account with the following caption:
“This is what I walked out to after losing the Olympic finals. While looking for my boyfriend, a group of Brazilians started chanting my name and welcomed me with open arms. They celebrated like I was a champion. These are the Brazilian fans I know and love.”
Proudly donning her silver medal around her neck, Hamana-Paredes eventually found her boyfriend through the sea of fans chanting her name, which only fueled the electric atmosphere around her.
Talk about a silver lining.
Additionally, despite the loss, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson made history by becoming the first Canadian beach volleyball team to play in a gold medal game at the Olympics.
Their silver medal not only added to Canada’s tally, bringing the total to 27 medals in Paris, but also set the record for the country’s largest hardware haul in a non-boycotted Summer Olympics.