Ana Patricia Ramos & Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda) of Brazil took up the remaining vacancy in the women’s Olympic beach volleyball final on Friday. After yet another three-set semifinal on Thursday evening, the world’s number one team will take on Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson in the battle for the Paris 2024 gold.

After losing their first set since the start of the tournament, top-seeded Ana Patricia & Duda battled their way back to a 2-1 (20-22, 21-15, 15-12) victory over Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallists Mariafe Artacho Del Solar & Taliqua Clancy of Australia. Engaging in a spectacular scoring race with Clancy, Ana Patricia finished one point clear of her Australian opponent, on a fantastic total of 31 points, including three kill blocks and two aces. Clancy’s 30-point tally included three aces and one block. Duda added another 13 points towards the Brazilian victory, including the match winner.

Ana Patricia & Duda were in control for most of the first set. Mariafe & Clancy were fighting hard and following close behind, catching up on several occasions. The first time they took the lead was for a 20-19 set point. Three rallies down the road, Mariafe closed it off with an ace for 22-20 and handed the Brazilians their first set loss in their six matches since the start of the Paris 2024 tournament. After 4-3 Australia’s way in the second set, Ana Patricia & Duda scored four in a row to take the lead and never gave it up until Duda’s elegant spike shaped up the final 21-15 to prompt a tie-breaker. The deciding set was a tight battle until 12-12, when the Brazilians sprinted down the final stretch with three in a row, crowned by another successful attack by Duda for 15-12.

“It's a dream coming true! It's the realization of everything we worked for,” Ana Patricia told the FIVB. “We expected that this game would be difficult. Australia was very aggressive and so were we, and it was a tight match, but we are glad that we won it.”

“It means a lot to us. We are very grateful to our families, friends and supporters, who are here and cheer for us,” Duda added. “It was a big disappointment when we didn't get the medal in Tokyo, but now, three years later, we are here and we will play in the final, so it's very important for us. We expect a great game against Canada. They are a very tough opponent and they are going to do their best to win like they have been doing here since the first game.”

The bronze medal match between Mariafe & Clancy and Switzerland’s Tanja Huberli & Nina Brunner will open Friday’s programme at the Eiffel Tower Stadium at 21:00 local time (19:00 UTC), followed by the gold medal showdown between Melissa & Brandie and Ana Patricia & Duda at 22:30 (20:30).

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Beach Volleyball: schedule and results

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