Archery: Top quotes from Rio 2016

While Para archery has concluded at Rio 2016, here are some of the most memorable quotes heard at the famed Sambodromo.

South Africa’s Shaun Anderson after bouncing back from a technical difficulty with his bow in the ranking round…

“We went to the back and tried to fix it and I was so worried. I just felt terrible, I put in all the work and I wanted to be in the top 10. I started to think about my family and friends and everyone who is supporting me. It’s tough.”

Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham after claiming silver with John Stubbs in the compound open mixed team event…

“I have been crying already and I was crying when the medal was put around my neck. Oh my gosh I am overfilled with joy and thanks and everything. Obviously, I wanted to win a medal but never in my life did I think I’d bring home a silver or be in the gold medal match. That was amazing.”

Team USA’s KJ Polish on the mental toughness of archery…

“It’s really easy to talk yourself out of winning. If you know exactly what’s left and what you need to score for a world record or to win gold, then you are going to overthink it and get all sevens.”

Matt Stutzman, the USA’s ‘armless archer’, on his plans to shoot with able-bodied athletes…

“In the US you have to decide to shoot Para or able bodied archery. You can’t do both. I want to make the World Cup team, shoot with Reo and Brady and those guys. My focus next year is able-bodied archery. So I won’t be doing Para events next year. To be the best I have to shoot with the best in the world. Not that people here aren’t good, because they’re excellent, but my goals are World Cups, baby.

“I wanna shoot against Stephan Hansen, Christopher Perkins. I want to step up to the line with those guys and battle it out.”

Great Britain’s Vicky Jenkins after taking bronze in the W1 following his hospitalisation before the competition…

“I’ve got a neurological problem. I couldn’t move and I was in more pain than usual. It was really chronic pain. The doctors here did everything they could and in the end it was getting pretty serious so they sent me off to the hospital for about two days.

“And then we came this morning to see whether I could pull my bow back and to see whether I could shoot. It looked OK and not too painful. And so I just went for it really.”

Czech Republic’s world archery champion David Drahoninsky after finishing second in the W1 and proposing to his girlfriend in front of all the spectators…

“She is the woman I like and she is amazing. I am lucky at least in Rio I could give a surprise for my girlfriend. But people know that women don’t like surprises. I have five days of life before I return to the Czech Republic, after that she may kill me.”

Zahra Nemati represented Iran at August’s Olympic Games and won the women’s individual recurve open title at the Rio Paralympics…

“The energy from the people around me, the spectators, the people who wanted me to win – all this energy affected me and that was what helped me. I am very happy, I am so happy. I am so tired and all this work from the past two, three months has been weighing heavily on my shoulders.”

Great Britain’s Jo Frith and John Walker both made their Paralympic debuts in Rio and took gold in the mixed team W1…

“We've shot together for a long time,” Frith said. “We've got the three titles. We're very comfortable with each other in the way that we shoot, the timing of our shots. We complement each other. So to come out here and win a medal is just the icing on the cake.”

Walker was inspired by Matt Stutzman to take up archery after London 2012. Walker won gold in the men’s W1…

“I had a bad motorbike accident back in 2012, was hoping to go back to work but I couldn’t. I was recovering in bed and I watched Matt Stutzman shooting with no arms. I though, I used to be a really good shot in the armed forces, I wouldn’t mind giving this a go.

“We are now very good friends and Matt means a lot to me, and Matt knows that.”

Australian Jonathon Milne, the first Australian Para archer to medal since 1984, instructed his Australian fan club to keep quiet until he was done shooting…

“I can zone out everything. But if I hear someone’s voice that I know, that will lose my focus, and that could mean the difference between a nine or a 10, a win or a loss.”

Japanese archer Ueyama Tomohiro on hoping to improve Japanese archery before Toyko 2020…

“I am confident that I can win in four years time. I’m looking forward to having a medal and not only as an individual but a mixed medal as well. I’m looking forward to finding recurve women’s archers that can be in the mixed team in Japan and I can help them with training.”