Russia debut strong at Dutch para-archery tournament

The Dutch para-archery tournament in Almere, the Netherlands, marked not only the first international competition in the calendar, but also the beginning of the road to the 2015 Para-archery World Championships, and most importantly, to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

It was especially a strong showing for Russia, who took home 10 medals in the six-day world ranking competition, which concluded on 22 May. Six came from the team events, with victories in both the men and women’s recurve opens and the open mixed team.

Italy and Great Britain duelled in the medal standings, with each capturing seven a piece. But it was Italy who claimed four gold medals, which was the most in the event. The Italians were especially victorious in the compound men and mixed titles.

Great Britain were the victors in the compound/recurve W1 mixed event, defeating Russia in the final.

Germany also defeated Russia to win the women’s compound open.

To no surprise, Italy’s Elisabetta Mijno, the Czech Republic’s David Drahoninsky and Poland’s Piotr Sawicki all saw victories, as they are expected to be competitive at the World Championships later this year.

Great Britain’s Jessica Stretton continued to add to her budding reputation in the women’s compound/recurve W1, whilst fellow British archer Michael Hall claimed the honours in the men’s compound category. Italian archer Eleonora Sarti won the women’s compound open, shooting a world record in the process.

The international event featured 186 para-archers from 23 countries.

Click here for complete results of the 2015 Dutch Para-archery Tournament in Almere.