Schachter and Dearing of Canada Win NORCECA Olympic Ticket

TLAXCALA, Mexico, June 23, 2024. - Samuel Schachter and Daniel Dearing of Canada confirmed their talent by winning the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Qualifying Tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, winning the gold medal.

Schachter/Dearing triumphed with a decisive 21-13, 21-13 victory over the host team of Juan Virgen and Ricardo Galindo. Despite the support of the fans who filled the Jorge "El Ranchero" Aguilar bullring, the Mexican duo couldn’t stop the Canadians.

“This is incredible. It’s hard to describe. We’ve worked so hard to achieve this goal, and succeeding is an amazing feeling for us. Our entire team is part of our group and part of our victory, and I think everyone can share in this experience and the love,” said Sam Schachter.

“We are thrilled to go and showcase our best and represent our country on the Olympic stage,” he added. Reflecting on his teammate Dearing, he said, “These will be his first Olympic Games. So, we were obviously trying to prepare and manage all the emotions leading up to this match. He was incredibly resilient, even dealing with injuries. He’s so talented, and we have a great relationship and connection, which played a significant role in helping us come through under pressure and deliver our best performance.”

“I haven’t fully realized what we’ve accomplished yet. I focused on every match, every set, every point, and every breath. It feels amazing. We will celebrate tonight and truly feel all this joy, and then we’ll focus on Paris,” said Dearing.

“We were focused all year on the Beach Pro Tour. We had our ups and downs, discussed everything as a team, and aimed to prepare for this tournament. I think we did a great job.”

Schachter/Dearing advanced to the final by defeating Rubén Mora and Dany López of Nicaragua 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) in the semifinals. Meanwhile, the Mexican pair Galindo/Virgen comfortably overcame Christopher and Yoel Guardado from El Salvador 2-0 (21-13, 21-9).

The Guardado twins from El Salvador continued their impressive run by defeating Mora/López of Nicaragua 2-1 (12-21, 21-19, 15-12) to claim the bronze medal in their first Olympic qualifying event, the youngest pair in the competition.

Results Final Day

Gold Medal: Schachter/Dearing CAN d Galindo/Virgen MEX 2-0 (21-13, 21-13). Bronze Medal: Guardado Y./Guardado C. ESA d Mora/Lopez NCA 2-1 (12-21, 21-19, 15-12); 5th De Jesus/Martinez DOM d Mayer/Penberthy ISV 2-1 (21-13, 14-21, 15-4); 7th Blanco/Garcia GUA d D. Dyner/Varela CRC  2-0 (21-18, 21-17); 9th Torres/Rivera PUR  d Sporkslede/Pinas SUR  2-0 (21-7, 21-14); 11th Nage/Hodge SKN  d Theodore/Enile TTO 2-0 (22-20, 21-15)

Positions 5-8: Mayer/Penberthy ISV d D. Dyner/Varela CRC  2-1 (13-21, 21-14, 15-13)

De Jesus/Martinez DOM d Blanco/Garcia GUA 2-0 (21-17, 25-23)

Semifinals: Galindo/Virgen MEX d Guardado Y./Guardado C. ESA 2-0 (21-13, 21-9); Schachter/Dearing CAN d Mora/Lopez  NCA 2-0 (21-18, 21-16)