TOKYO, JPN – Karen Van Nest (North Bay, ON) has landed in Tokyo with her coach, Duncan Crawford. With lots of downtime and some lost equipment that has since been found, Karen Van Nest is ready to get into official practice and competition.

Duncan Crawford, head Paralympic coach, described how Van Nest has shown resilience. “One of the unfortunate realities of long distance travel is lost or delayed luggage. At a minimum, it creates stress and discomfort; at worst, it can mean you aren’t able to compete. Karen was missing everything but her bow and the clothes on her back. We didn’t let this get us down, she showed tremendous resolve and resiliency; we agreed to build a rapid contingency plan and forge ahead. We borrowed a high seat from the venue and got to the task of our regular shooting schedule. Thankfully, after 3 days, her luggage was located and forwarded on. We still have 2 full days to make the necessary adjustments and optimize our performance plan.”

Crawford feels confident that Van Nest will perform well. “Things are falling into place; conditions are great and Karen is feeling great and performing at near peak levels! In my estimation, the mark of a great athlete isn’t doing amazing things under ideal conditions; it’s being great under adverse conditions.”

Van Nest is Canada’s sole representative in the para-archery competition, she’ll be shooting in the women’s compound open event. This is her sixth Paralympics, her third in para-archery. She will be competing amongst 23 other archers in her field, from a wide range of countries.

The schedule is below (all times are in Japan Standard Time):

• Friday August 27 @ 9:00 a.m. – Women’s compound open ranking round
• Sunday August 29 @ 9:00 a.m. – Women’s compound open 1/16 eliminations
• Monday August 30 @ 9:00 a.m. – Women’s compound open eliminations and medals