North Bay, Canada, July 16, 2016 - After teaming last week in Russia to win a Canadian men's Beach Volleyball berth in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Josh Binstock and Sam Schachter played rivals Grant O'Gorman and Sam Pedlow here Saturday at the Canor Molson Sand Centre to see which team would fill the spot in Pool A on Copacabana.
In a winner-takes-all single match playoff with the victors joining compatriots Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk as the second Canadian men’s pair in the 2016 Summer Games, Binstock and Schachter posted a 2-1 (20-22, 21-17, 15-12) win over O'Gorman and Pedlow to secure their Copacabana beach chairs.
While Schachter will be making his Olympic debut in Rio, this will be Binstock’s second appearance as he teamed with Martin Reader for the London 2012 Summer Games. Like today, Binstock and Reader had to win the 2012 Canadian Olympic Beach Volleyball Trial after the pair had secured their spot for London by defeating Christian Redmann and Saxton in the winner-takes-all single match playoff.
Unlike 2012 when Binstock, Reader, Redmann and Saxton punched a Canadian ticket for London by winning the NORCECA Continental Cup. This time, Binstock, Schachter, O'Gorman and Pedlow finished second to Cuba in the NORCECA Continental Cup at the end of June in Mexico, but took advantage of their "last chance" opportunity in Sochi by defeating Venezuela for the Rio berth.
“It was amazing to have that experience the first time and now I get to go back with this guy [Sam] by my side, he’s one of the best players in the world,” said the 35-year old Binstock. "Those guys (Pedlow and O'Gorman) are a great team, so if you don't stay sharp, momentum can swing. So we just stayed poised and optimistic and good things happened."
After the match, Pedlow said "they played better than us today, but I am not disappointed with our performance. A few breaks made the difference. We hold our heads high and fly to Austria next week for the next one."
By securing a spot in Rio in Sochi, Canada will have a full complement of teams in the Copacabana contest with the North American country being represented in the women’s competition by Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan and Jamie Broder/Kristina Valijas. All three teams qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics via the FIVB World Tour.