Sarah Pavan
Sarah Pavan is a Canadian beach volleyball who finished fifth at the 2016 Rio Olympics in beach volleyball and with a new partner won the women's gold medal at the 2019 Beach Volleyball World Championships. She joined the national indoor volleyball team at age 16, the youngest woman ever selected for the squad. She also played collegiately at the University of Nebraska, becoming a four-time first team All-American, winning the NCAA title in 2006, and being awarded the Honda Cup as Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year in 2007. But after the Canadian team failed to qualify for London 2012 she decided to take a risk and give the beach game a go. After two years of learning the completely different sport, with partner Heather Bansley, she enjoyed a breakout season in 2015, reaching their first World Tour podium with their second place finish at the Prague Open in May. They went on to earn Canada’s first ever FIVB Major Series medal for women in Porec, Croatia, finishing second. Bansley and Pavan also posted Canada’s best ever women’s result at the world championships with their fifth place finish. At Rio 2016, Pavan and Bansley advanced to the quarterfinals, matching Canada’s best ever Olympic result in women’s beach volleyball with their fifth place finish. Now, Sarah Pavan and her new partner Melissa Humana-Paredes are among the favourites to compete for medals in the Tokyo Olympics.