PARIS – Saturday was always going to be a special day for Canadian beach volleyball player Sophie Bukovec — a picturesque setting just made it even more memorable.
Bukovec and Heather Bansley battled Americans Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, eventually dropping a 2-0 decision 21-17, 21-14.
A disappointing result did little to dampen the night for Bukovec, a 28-year-old Olympic rookie from Toronto.
“To just kind of have it all end up under the Eiffel Tower, under the lights, for this to be my first match with my friends and my family here, and to be playing alongside Heather, it’s something that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” she said.
After a day of on-and-off rain, the skies partially cleared ahead of the game, giving fans in the stands at the Eiffel Tower Stadium a spectacular view of a glowing orange sunset with cotton candy-pink clouds behind the iconic landmark.
“When we were warming up, the sky decided to turn pink and purple, and the sun came out, and then the lights of the Eiffel Tower, it just all kind of fit for us to kind of really have a special first Olympic Games,” Bukovec said. “So it was really, really special.”
Many in the late-night crowd stopped to take selfies in front of the picturesque scene before the game began.
As the sun went down, the Tower lit up, then added dazzling white lights that gave it a sparkling effect.
Just before the athletes came onto the court, the DJ encouraged spectators to take out their phones and turn on their flashlights. The stadium lights went down, eliciting gasps from the crowd as their phones echoed the twinkle of the Eiffel Tower.
“It was so magical, especially when all the lights went down,” Kloth said of the moment. “To walk into the venue and see all of the fans and just hear everybody was so spectacular.”
“That is what dreams are made of, sitting there seeing the Eiffel Tower twinkle, seeing all the flashlights around us going off,” Nuss added. “That’s a memory that will definitely be imprinted in my brain for forever.”
The Eiffel Tower Stadium sits upon the famed Champs de Mars public plaza, directly behind the iconic metal monolith it’s named after.
Its stands showcase not only the 330-metre tall landmark, but the treetops of the Eiffel Tower garden and rooftops of the elegant apartments in Paris’ 7th Arrondissement neighbourhood.
During breaks in play, spectators could spot some of the Eiffel Tower’s lifts ferrying tourists up to various viewing platforms to take in the vast cityscape below.
The temporary stadium can hold up to 11,800 spectators and the stands were mostly full Saturday evening as Brazil’s George Souto Maior Wanderley and Andre Loyola Stein downed Mohammed Abicha and Zouheir Elgraoui of Monaco 2-0, despite the persistent drip of rain. Many fans wore plastic ponchos. A few held-up umbrellas.
On the court, Paris 2024 staff in colourful bucket hats stood in each corner of the sandy surface and used pink towels to dry off balls.
The DJ amped up the enthusiastic crowd, encouraging them to sing along to P.O.D’s 2001 hit “Boom” and rhythmically bounce their arms up and down with every spike.
Canada struggled with errors early on Saturday and the Americans jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set before Bansley and Bukovec whittled the deficit to a single point at 14-13.
Bansley, a 36-year-old three-time Olympian from London, Ont., had 13 attack points on the night while Bukovec contributed three.
The Canadians gave up 14 points in errors.
“I’m proud of how we still kind of kept fighting for every point,” Bansley said. “We clawed back a few times there. We had some good defence on our side. Just need to transition a few more of those defensive points, and I think then we’ll be in a better place.”
Canada will be back on the court Sunday when Samuel Schachter of North York, Ont., and Toronto’s Daniel Dearing take on Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner of Czechia.
Bansley and Bukovec will face China’s Xue Chen and Xia Xinyi in group play Monday, while fellow Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson play Giuliana Poletti and Michelle Sharon Valiente Amarilla of Paraguay the same day.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2024.