TOKYO, JPN – The first day of Karen Van Nest’s competition in Tokyo is complete. Winds were tricky and nerves were running high at the start of the ranking round. She earned a good score of 332 in the front half of the round but the second half was a different story. Van Nest set a great pace and carried it through for the entire second half and earned a personal Paralympic best of 346 (3^rd in the field)! The final ranking ended with her in 11^th place overall with a final score of 678, which is a Paralympic best and 4 points higher than the previous Paralympic record.

“Despite an unsettled start, I’m happy with the result and looking forward to the next stage,” Van Nest remarked.

Duncan Crawford, head coach of the Paralympic team, was impressed by Van Nest’s performance. “In the biggest event of your life, it’s not easy to step up and shoot your best. Karen exhibited poise under pressure and was able to gain momentum throughout. The end result is right where we hoped to be. Karen is confident and ready for success in match play.”

The elimination rounds start tomorrow (August 28). Van Nest faces Miho Nagano of Japan in the 1/16 elimination round at 8:34 p.m. EST.