PARIS, FR – The first two days of competition at the third World Cup stage taking place in Paris are complete. Six Canadian athletes took to the shooting line in France, 1 compound archer and 5 recurve athletes. 

On Tuesday afternoon, Cory Smandych was the first to shoot his 720 round. The wind was a factor during this qualification round, enough to make it just a little more challenging. Out of a field of 86 men’s compound archers, 22 were eliminated with a cut at 691 points. The sole Canadian shot a score of 687, which resulted in him placing 70th, unfortunately not allowing him to advance to the elimination rounds.

The recurve archers shot their qualifications on Wednesday afternoon local time. There was a bit of wind reported from the field, which blew from left to right and was harder to figure out. Stephanie Barrett had a great round, placing 20th in a field of 81 athletes, with a score of 652. She will face off against Yi-Ching Chiu from Chinese Taipei in the first elimination round on June 24 at 2:13 pm in Paris (8:13 am EST). 

Three Canadian male recurve archers shot their 720 rounds today. Due to the high number of entries in this division, there were no athletes cut after qualification; all of them got a chance to shoot one elimination round. Eric Peters scored a 660, earning him the 46th spot and a matchup against Yin Chai Kwok from Hong Kong. The match was incredibly close, with it going to a tiebreaker after both athletes earned 5 set points. Kwok came out with the victory, even though both athletes shot a 9, Kwok’s was closer to the centre. Andrew Azores shot a score of 632 and a ranking of 94. This placed him against Dan Olaru of Moldova, who unfortunately bested him with a score of 6-0. Conner Sorley rounded out the Canadian recurve archers shooting today, with a 720 round score of 642 and a rank of 80. His first match was against Dauletkeldi Zhangbyrbay (KAZ), and while they tied the second end, Zhangbyrbay walked away with the win. 

On the team’s side, the #22-ranked Canadian men’s team comprised of Azores, Peters, and Sorley, earned a total score of 1934. This positions them to shoot against the Kazakhstani team, who ranked 11th in the qualification round. The match will happen on June 23 at 9:15 (3:15 am EST). 

Stephanie Barrett and Eric Peters will make up the recurve mixed team, combining their qualification score to total 1312 (rank 14). They will shoot off against the Indonesian team for a chance to advance on June 24 at 9:15 (3:15 am EST).

Tomorrow’s (June 23) schedule will consist of recurve men’s and women’s team matches in the morning, all the way up to the bronze medal match. In the afternoon, the compound competition will continue. 

For more information, please contact:

Zoe Meil, Communications & Safe Sport Coordinator

zmeil@archerycanada.ca

(613) 260-2113 ext. 3

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