US archer Bennett shows accuracy ahead of Rio

Men’s recurve world champion Eric Bennett came back to win gold in the last international tournament before September’s Games. 22 Jun 2016
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Bennett Eric (USA) competes in the Men's Ind. Compound-Open Archery event at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games

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By Emily Bayci for the IPC; World Archery

World champion Eric Bennett sealed his spot on the 2016 US Paralympic Archery Team and his third consecutive Paralympics during the Czech Target 2016 – Para Archery Tournament, which concluded on Monday (20 June) in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

Bennett was ranked second in the recurve men’s open category and trailed 4-2 against Russia’s Sergey Khutakov heading into the gold medal match. But the US archer recovered, shooting two 27-point series to win the final two sets and claim the gold. Bennett also claimed the recurve men’s open team bronze with teammates Timothy Palumbo and Michael Lukow.

Great Britain led the way with four gold and two bronze medals in the final qualification tournament for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Russia was second in the medal rankings, followed by Italy.

Great Britain’s Jo Frith, the two-time European champion in the W1, was among the British highlights, winning gold in the W1 mixed team with John Walker. But she could not overcome teammate Jessica Stretton, who won gold in the women’s W1. South Korea’s Kim Ok Geum took silver, while Firth claimed the bronze.

British archer John Walker won gold in the men's W1, defeating Turkey’s top seed Naci Yenie in the final.

The British trio of Michael Hall, John Stubbs and Nathan MacQueen claimed the compound men’s open team event during a shoot-off against Italy.

Stubbs also left with bronze in the compound mixed team with Jodie Grinham.

Poland’s top-ranked Milena Olszewska won the recurve women’s gold medal.

Complete results from the Czech Target Para Archery Tournament can be found on World Archery’s website.

Nations secure last-minute spots in Rio

Fourteen nations collected spots to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, including two new nations.

Iceland and Chinese Taipei had not won any places during the early stages of the Paralympic qualification process – the World Archery Para Championships in 2015 and respective continental qualifiers.

They were among the 14 to collect spots at the final world qualification tournament, held as part of the Czech Target.

Iceland’s spot was won in the compound men’s open competition, by 19th seed Thorsteinn Halldorsson. Chinese Taipei’s Lee Yun-Hsien took a place for her team in the recurve women’s event thanks to a shoot-off win in the semifinals.

Only teams without a space already secured in a competition category could enter an athlete into the final qualifying tournament – and could only win a maximum of one space per category.

Host nation Czech Republic and visiting Spain both added spots in two divisions. Twelve other teams took one place each.

The last stage in the qualification process for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games is the awarding of Bipartite places, which ensure equality and universality at the event.

The final entry list for the Paralympics is expected at the end of July.

The complete Para archery quota tracker can be found on World Archery’s website.