German archers target medals, Rio qualification at Euros

Winning medals and qualifying for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games are the main goals of the German archers competing at the European Para Archery Championships from 3-10 April in Saint Jean de Monts, France.

Having already secured two qualification spots at their home World Championships last year in Donaueschingen, the team is now looking for more at the European Championships.

Team manager Matthias Meudt said: “Our goal is of course to further increase the number of qualification slots [for Rio 2016]. However, due to the nomination timelines for the Paralympics, the European Championships are very early this year.

“Therefore, many athletes did not have the chance to practice outdoors for quite a long time due to bad weather conditions.”

Weather predictions for France are also not ideal. The 150 participants from 24 countries will have to cope with around 10 degrees Celsius, wind and light rain.

The German women’s compound team is furthermore looking to defend their title from 2014. Lucia Kupczyk, Karina Granitza and Vanessa Bui surprisingly beat favourites Russia in Nottwil, Switzerland, two years ago. But the Russians took revenge at the World Championships 2015 after a dramatic shoot-off.

The finals on 9 and 10 April will take place directly at the beach, just 50 metres from the Atlantic Ocean.

For more information and a live stream of the Championships visit the competition website.