Stretton sets world record at Fazza event

“All my hard work has been put into practice and I have got the result I wanted.”

Great Britain’s Jess Stretton beat her own world-leading score en route to the gold medal at the Fazaa International Para Archery Competition, which concluded on Tuesday (31 January) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Stretton, the gold medallist in the women’s W1 competition at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, had set the previous world record of 649 points at the same event one year before.

This time, the 16-year-old began her attack in the qualification round; she increased her own world record for the 72-arrow 50-metre ranking round by seven points to 656 out of 720.

“I am so pleased with my world record today. All my hard work has been put into practice and I have got the result I wanted,” said Stretton, as she beat Finland’s world and European champion Jean Pierre Antonios in the final.

Stretton was just one of four British archers to podium at the Para world ranking event.

Nathan MacQueen staved off a comeback from experienced Italian archer Alberto Simonelli to win the compound men’s open final 142-140.

Jodie Grinham joined her teammates on the podium, finishing runner-up in the compound women’s open competition. Meanwhile, Hazel Chaisty took bronze in the women’s recurve open.

“Cannot believe it. Happy does not cover it. Bagged my first international medal and did it in style, beating the world number one,” MacQueen wrote on Facebook.

Brazil’s Jane Karla Gogel won women’s compound open gold. The recurve women’s open competition was taken by Iraq’s Zaman Al-Saedi, and Turkey’s Oguzhan Polat won the recurve men’s open event.

The new Para world rankings can be found on World Archery’s website.