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OSTRAVA - They have already been on top of the
world. They are on top of the world. They are
the reigning world champions, yet they are ready
to conquer the world once again, this time at
the Olympics. It has been a long wait since Sarah
Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes qualified
for Tokyo by winning gold at the 2019 FIVB Beach
Volleyball World Championship. The Games are
almost here and the two Canadian players feel
the excitement rising, but manage to stay
focused on their one and only goal, the Olympic
gold.
“It has taken a very long time and it’s been
really challenging, but we are so excited that
we are just about a month away. This season has
had a lot of ups and downs. It’s been a real
challenge, but we’re hoping that we’re going to
reach our maximum potential there,” 34-year-old
Sarah Pavan told Volleyball World on the
premises of the J&T Banka Ostrava Beach Open
4-star event just after the team progressed to
the quarterfinals.
“I think the fact that we were already qualified
two years ago gave us two years to work on a lot
of things and try things. That was a privilege
and a luxury that not a lot of teams had,”
28-year-old Melissa Humana-Paredes added. “We
took that to our advantage and used these
opportunities to compete against the best levels
to try and get information on ourselves and on
them and see what we can put into practice to
bring to the Olympics. It was a good opportunity
the last few tournaments to try things and get
into a good rhythm.”
Melissa also commented on another privilege she
has, to play next to someone as experienced as
Sarah, someone who has already played at the
Olympics and someone who has learned how to deal
with the pressure of high-level sports.
“I think what Sarah does really well for me in
high-pressure moments – and I imagine the
Olympics will be high-pressure – is to slow me
down to kind of enjoy the moment and be my
joyful self,” Melissa said. “She really reminds
me often to not get too frustrated with myself,
to be patient with myself and just to remember
why I am here and why I love doing this. There
are times when I kind of get a little frustrated
and she’ll be like, ‘Hey! It’s OK. Next one...
Remember why we are here...’ Those are really
important for me to hear and bring me back to
the moment, make me enjoy what I do and I play
way better when I do that.”
While Pavan already played at the Olympics once,
finishing fifth alongside Heather Bansley at Rio
2016, Tokyo 2020 will be the first Olympic
appearance for Humana-Paredes.
“I’m excited!” she said. “I actually had the
privilege of going to Rio as an alternate, so I
was there with Sarah and Heather helping them
prepare for their games, so I kind of got a
sense of the Olympics already and got to
experience all the excitement and everything. So
this time I am just going in to play. I know,
with the coronavirus, the Olympics is not going
to look the same, and we are there to do one
thing and one thing only, to win the gold medal.
So I am really kind of focused and narrow-minded
on that.”
The fact that Pavan and Melissa have already won
the World Championships does not take away from
keeping their sights on the next big goal, to
win the Olympics.
“I think our team has been really good at
separating and compartmentilising different
things. Yes, we are world champions, but that
was its own thing, and the Olympics is something
completely different,” Pavan said. “We know that
we have a target on our back.
“The women’s field is really deep and very
talented, so we know that even on the World Tour
we have to put together great performances every
match if we are going to win. In that sense, the
Olympics is no different. Nothing changes for us
with our preparation or our mindset, but it’s
nice to have that target on our back as it keeps
us pushing to be better every day.”
Since Pavan and Melissa teamed up after the Rio
Olympics, they have managed to win five gold
medals, six silvers and a bronze in the deep
women’s field of the World Tour, in addition to
the World Championship title in Hamburg. They
are currently the number one duo in the FIVB
World Ranking. So what sets their team apart?
“At this level, everyone is very good at
volleyball, but one thing that our team takes a
lot of pride in is our relationship and who we
are together,” Sarah said. “We’re very different
people. We’re very different personalities and
volleyball players, but who we are together is
really, really special. We work so hard on our
relationship and making our differences
cohesive, and we work together so beautifully.
So I think that’s a big difference-maker for
us.”
“Yes, I think Sarah nailed it,” Melissa agreed,
and added, “I think the difference-maker is
going to be consistency, if we are talking
technically on the game, but also understanding
– and I think the World Championship was a great
example of that – that we don’t have to play
perfectly all the time. We just need to play
with heart all the time and a never-say-die
attitude. I think we’re really good at doing
that and, when we have that, no one can stop us.
If we can play with that mentality, that’s going
to be a game-changer for us in Tokyo”. |
