2024 Olympics Day 13 Recap: Canada's medal count grows to 21 behind Charron and Park, as women's beach volleyball and 4x100 relay teams make history

While the watching experience and timing for the 2024 Paris Olympics isn't quite as challenging for Canadian viewers as it was for Tokyo 2020 or Beijing 2022, a good chunk of action during these Games happens when plenty of Canadians are fast asleep.

Whether you were crushing some zzz's, busy at work, had family activities to partake in or just didn't have a chance to tune in, we have you covered throughout these Olympics from start to finish, with Team Canada currently sitting at 21 medals, including six gold.

Here's what you may have missed on Day 13, including a stellar performance from Canada's flag bearer Maude Charron, a bronze medal in women's taekwondo, a historic win in beach volleyball, and both the men's and women's 4x100 relay teams advancing to their respective finals.

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson make history for Canada behind gutsy comeback win

A Canadian beach volleyball team will play for gold at the Olympics for the first time ever.

The duo of Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes beat Switzerland's Nina Brunner and Tanja Huberli in a three-set thriller on Thursday to advance to the gold medal game.

It was a dramatic come-from-behind win for the Canadians, who rallied from a set down after dropping the opener 21-14 and staved off match point with Switzerland up 20-19 in the second. Canada tied it 20-20 after a sideout before scoring two consecutive points on attacking errors from the Swiss side — who entered Thursday's contest without losing a single set in six matches at the Paris Olympics.

This match was far from easy, and Canada's path to the gold-medal game has been just as rocky. After an up-and-down run through the group stage, the Canadians had to take the "lucky loser" route just to reach the knockout stage — booking their ticket to the quarterfinals with a massive upset win over the No. 2-ranked American duo of Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss.

Canada then knocked off Spain and Switzerland in the quarters and semis, respectively, to reach the final.

The Canadians will now face the No. 1-ranked Brazilian team of Eduarda Santos Lisboa and Ana Patricia Silva Ramos in Friday's gold-medal clash at Eiffel Tower Stadium, set for 4:30 p.m. ET.

Whether Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson pull out silver or gold, this will mark the best-ever finish for a Canadian beach volleyball team. Canada has won just one Olympic beach volleyball medal in its history, with John Child and Mark Heese claiming bronze in the men's beach event at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson, with different partners, each lost in the quarterfinals in Tokyo before the former York University indoor teammates joined forces to form a new squad.

Skylar Park wins bronze medal in women's taekwondo

Winnipeg product Skylar Park secured Canada's 21st medal of the Paris Olympics on Thursday, claiming bronze in the women's taekwondo 57-kilogram division with a win over Lebanon's Laetitia Aoun.

The 25-year-old lost her quarterfinal match to Kim Yujin of South Korea before beating Turkey's Hatice Kubra Ilgun 2-0 in a repechage — to advance to the bronze-medal bout. Park began her day with a 2-0 (6-2, 4-3) win over Dominika Hronova of Czechia in the Round of 16 before the upset loss to Kim.

In the bronze-medal clash, Park and her Turkish opponent were scoreless after the first round, but the reigning Pan American Games champion found her groove in the second frame, taking a 4-2 lead into the third and final round, before ultimately hanging on for the victory.

Park's bronze marks Canada’s third Olympic medal in taekwondo since the event was introduced in Sydney 2000 — where Dominique Bosshart took home bronze in the women’s 67kg event. Karine Sergerie claimed silver in the women’s 67kg eight years later in Beijing.

Team Canada's 4x100-metre relay teams advance to the finals

Both the men's and women's 4x100 metre relay teams have advanced to the finals in Paris.

On the women's side, Sade McCreath, Jacqueline Madogo, Marie-Éloise Leclair and Audrey Leduc set a national record of 42.50, after finishing fourth in their heat. The previous Canadian record was 42.60, set in 2015.

"We knew that we could run a national record, we knew we were one of the best countries in the world, so to do it and show the rest of the world feels right," McCreath said.

The performance was capped off by Leduc, who as the anchor passed three women, as she posted a closing time of 10.04 seconds.

For the men, they finished third in their heat with a time of 38.39 seconds, with performances from Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and De Grasse.

For De Grasse, for the first time in his Olympic career, he didn't advance to the final or medal in the 100m or 200m races, as he deals with a hamstring issue. He'll now have an opportunity for a podium finish alongside his countrymen in the 4x100.

Both finals will take place on Friday, Aug. 9. The women's will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET, and the men's at 3:45 p.m.

Charron claims Olympic medals in back-to-back Games

Maude Charron has secured a silver medal in the women's weightlifting 59kg category, after putting up 106kg in the snatch stage and 130kg in the clean and jerk, for a total of 236kg.

China's Luo Shifang finished in first with a 241kg score, which sets an Olympic record.

For Charron, the 106kg originally set an Olympic record, but that was surpassed shortly after by Shifang. The 130kg in the clean and jerk is a personal best for the Rimouski, Que., native.

It’s a new weight class for her in Paris, after Charron won Olympic gold in Tokyo in the 64kg category.

More news from Team Canada on Day 13

• Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, N.S. qualified for the women's shot put final with a top throw of 19.77 metres on her first attempt. The final will take place tomorrow at 1:37 p.m. ET.

• Sprint canoeists Katie Vincent and Sophia Jensen advanced to the semifinals in the women's single 200 metres, with each placing first in their respective heats.