Archery Ones to Watch named; One month to Worlds

Great Britain’s Danielle Brown, Iran’s Zahra Nemati, USA’s Matt Stutzman and Russia’s Timur Tuchnov are all Ones to Watch at next month’s World Archery Para-Championships. 02 Oct 2013

Iranian archer Zahra Nemati celebrates winning gold at London 2012

ⒸGetty Images

By IPC

These four archers all expected to headline the entries at the World Archery Para-Championships, which take place from 1-7 November in Bangkok, Thailand.

With exactly one month to go until the World Archery Para-Championships, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) together with World Archery, have revealed the top four athletes in the sport to keep your eyes on.

The IPC’s Ones to Watch initiative showcases the top athletes around the world, with all four of the archery selections having medalled at the Paralympic Games and having a strong presence in the media and their home countries.

The four archers include Great Britain’s Danielle Brown, Iran’s Zahra Nemati, USA’s Matt Stutzman and Russia’s Timur Tuchinov.

Brown, arguably the most decorated para-archer in the world, defended her Paralympic title at London 2012 in the women’s individual compound open and has made the podium at able-bodied international competitions more than once.

At London 2012, Nemati set a Paralympic record on her way to gold in the women's individual recurve W1/W2, and she also picked up a bronze medal in the women's team recurve open.

Her success resulted in significant media coverage back home and inspired other women to take up para-sport. Earlier this year, Nemati won an individual award at the SportAccord Spirit of Sport Awards in St. Petersburg, Russia – an accolade that commends the commitment and humanitarian spirit of athletes who have made an exceptional and lasting contribution to using sport as a tool for positive social change.

She was also named one of five finalists for the IPC’s Best Female Athlete for the 2013 Parlaympic Sport Awards, which will take place in Athens, Greece in November and are proudly partnered by the IPC’s International Partner Allianz.

American Stutzman won silver in the men’s individual compound open archery competition at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Following that, he’s become one of the world’s biggest inspirations, as photos of him shooting a bow and arrow without arms were some of the most iconic of the Games.

Tuchinov made his Paralympic Games deubt at Beijing 2008, but it was more recently, at London 2012, that he recorded his largest triumph, winning gold in both the men’s individual recurve standing and men’s team recurve open events.

Heading into the Games, Tuchinov’s entire village turned out to see him off to London, and then he returned with a hero’s welcome, and he was given a three-room apartment in the village of Aginskoe.

Now Tuchinov, like the other three, is back into training for the next two major events – the 2013 World Championships and the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

They are all expected to headline the entries at the World Archery Para-Championships, which take place from 1-7 November in Bangkok, Thailand.

These four archers are not necessarily the Ones to Watch athletes for the IPC’s Rio 2016 campaign, but are the ones to keep your eyes on throughout the next Paralympic cycle.

A number of other activities will also be implemented across social media in a concerted effort to boost the profiles of these athletes and make them household names for years to come.

The IPC’s Ones to Watch campaign launched in the lead-up to London 2012, when a new section was included within Paralympic.org, entitled Ones to Watch. This series of pages was designed to raise the profiles of leading medal contenders in Paralympic sports and act as an essential media resource.