The Olympic day of this Friday 9th ended in style. After winning a bronze and a silver medal, Brazil won a gold medal, the country’s third at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and “completed the podium”. Those responsible for this feat were Ana Patrícia and Duda, who became Olympic beach volleyball champions.

The Brazilian duo’s campaign was impeccable. World number 1s, Ana Patrícia and Duda confirmed in Paris their quality, already demonstrated at the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Pan American Championship, when they were champions.

The final was between Canadians Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes. The start of the first set was difficult: the opponents took the lead from the beginning. However, by maintaining their concentration to advance point by point, Ana Patrícia and Duda managed to recover and equalize the match, winning the very contested set by 26 to 24.

The balance remained in the second set. The pairs remained very close in the score, until Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes managed to shoot. The set ended 21-12 and the fight for gold was once again tied.

In the tie-break, Ana Patrícia and Duda came back full of energy and took the lead. The dispute remained fierce, but the Brazilians came out strong in the second half of the last set. Ana Patrícia and Duda managed the advantage until the end to close the set in 15 axes and guarantee Brazil’s third gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Brazil is the sport’s top medallist at the Olympics, with 21 medals between men and women, including five golds. Since beach volleyball entered the Olympic circuit at the Atlanta Games in 1996, the country has won medals at every edition except Tokyo 2020. It was in fact at the first Olympic beach volleyball competition that the last Brazilian women’s duo was champion, but Ana Patrícia and Duda ended their 28-year gap.

Medal table

Thanks to the gold medal of Ana Patrícia and Duda in beach volleyball, Brazil climbed to 17th place in the medal table, with three gold, six silver and nine bronze. In addition, the country has another medal won by the women’s football team, which will play this Saturday, 10th, in the final of the Olympic tournament. The country’s achievements in Paris 2024 are as follows:

• Beatriz Souza (judo; gold);
• Rebeca Andrade (artistic gymnastics – floor, gold; vault and all-around; two silver medals);
• Ana Patrícia and Duda (beach volleyball);
• Willian Lima (judo; silver);
• Caio Bonfim (athletics – race walking; silver);
• Tatiana Weston-Webb (surfing; silver);
• Isaquias Queiroz (sprint canoe – C1 – 1000 meters; silver);
• Larissa Pimenta (judo; bronze);
• Rayssa Leal (skate street; bronze);
• Women’s artistic gymnastics team (bronze);
• Mixed Judo Team (bronze);
• Beatriz Ferreira (boxing; bronze);
• Gabriel Medina (surfing; bronze);
• Augusto Akio (skatepark; bronze);
• Edival Pontes (taekwondo; bronze);
• Alison dos Santos (athletics – 400 metres hurdles, bronze).