It has finally arrived first Italian archery medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympicsduring the morning session of the third day of finals at the Esplanade des Invalides (a venue which had also hosted the archery competitions of the recent Olympics), thanks to the mixed pair made up of Daila Dameno and Paolo Tonon.
The two blues, engaged in Mixed Team W1, they got one splendid bronze at the end of a daring match against South Korea. Dameno and Tonon, both at their first Paralympic participation in archery (the 56-year-old from Lombardy was present in Athens 2004 in swimming and in Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010 in alpine skiing), had the merit of redeeming themselves after the disappointment of missing the podium in the respective individual races in recent days.
Dameno/Tonon, in their journey today, clearly defeated the fearsome Americans Tracy Otto/Jason Tabansky 139-126 in the quarterfinals and then lost in the semifinals to the Czech Republic of Sarka Pultar Musilova/David Drahoninsky with a score of 138-146. In the play-off with the third coin up for grabs, our team came from behind to win against the Koreans Kim Okgeum/Park Hong Jo 134-132, recovering an 8-point deficit after two volleys, especially thanks to a sensational third set of 39-26. Gold goes to China, with Chen Minyi/Zhang Tianxin beating Czechia 147-143.
