The national Paralympic archery team has arrived in France for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The archery competition will start on August 29th and end on September 5th. The Azzurri immediately took to the pitch for “familiarisation”, the shooting tests in the stadium which will host the preliminaries and finals in the splendid facility set up at the Esplanade des Invalides, the same competition venue used for the Olympics. There will be 75 male and 65 female archers representing 47 nations on the shooting line. The categories included in the competition program are, for men and women, Arco Olimpico Open (or Recurve), Compound Open and W1. In each category there is an individual and mixed team competition. The Olympic arch challenges are played on 70 meters, on a 122 cm view, with the set system, while the compound and W1 shoot at 50 meters away on an 80 cm view, with the cumulative scoring system. Italy, with 9 Italians qualified out of the 12 available, will be able to compete in all the medal events and, for the first time, will take the field not only in the Olympic and compound mixed team, but also in the W1.
THE AZZURRI IN THE COMPETITION
In the open recurve, Stefano Travisani (Paralympic Defense Sports Group), Veronica Floreno (Paralympic Defense Sports Group) and Elisabetta Mjino (Archers of the Alps) will be on the shooting line. In the open compound Matteo Bonacina (Paralympic Defense Sports Group), Eleonora Sarti (Paralympic Defense Sports Group) and Giulia Pesci (Paralympic Defense Sports Group). In W1 Paolo Tonon (Gruppo Sportivo Paralimpico Difesa), Asia Pellizzari (Fiamme Oro) and Daila Dameno (Polisportiva Disabili Valcamonica). The technical staff following Italy is composed of the Technical Director Guglielmo “Willy” Fuchsova, the coaches Antonio Tosco and Fabio Fuchsova, the physiotherapist Chiara Barbi and the psychologist Gianni Bonas.
No debutant for Italy in the open Olympic arc: Elisabetta Mijno, born in Moncalieri in 1986 and surgeon at the CTO in Turin, made her debut at the Paralympics in Beijing 2008, then individual silver in London 2012, bronze in mixed teams in Rio 2016 and silver in the mixed team at Tokyo 2020. Veronica Floreno, who finished 4th individually and in the team on her debut in London 2012, was also a starter at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, while for Stefano Travisani the Paris one will be the second presence after the silver won with Mijno in Japan. In the compound open, Giulia Pesci will make her debut at the Paralympics: the athlete from Pavia, born in 1987, obtained the pass by winning the Dubai 2024 qualifying tournament, while for Eleonora Sarti, born in Cattolica in 1986, the one in Paris will be the third appearance: the debut in Rio 2016 a year after the victory of the World title and then Tokyo 2020. Matteo Bonacina from Bergamo, born in ’84, will also count his third appearance: the debut in Rio de Janeiro, then the starter in Tokyo , and now he arrives in Paris as the reigning world champion. In W1, the story of Daila Dameno needs to be told: born in Magenta and resident in Gambolo (Pv), born in ’68, she is making her debut in archery, but has already experienced the atmosphere of the Games, having won in skiing a silver and a bronze at the 2006 Turin Winter Paralympics, as well as being a starter in swimming at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games. For Asia Pellizzari, born in 2001 and resident in Mareno di Piave (Tv), it will instead be the second presence after in Tokyo 2020, while Paolo Tonon, an athlete from Orsago (TV), born in ’89, will make his debut at the Paralympics in Paris, where he will allow Italy to compete for the first time in the W1 mixed team.
THE PROGRAM
The program foresees the start of the competition on Thursday 29 August and the conclusion on Thursday 5 September. Today, Sunday 25th and tomorrow, Monday 26th August, the Azzurri and all the other participants will do shooting tests in the preliminary and final arena, while on the 27th and 28th the test shooting will take place on the field where the 72 arrows will be contested ranking round.
The days on which the medals will be awarded: Saturday 31 August (women’s individual finals: W1 in the morning and Compound Open in the afternoon), Sunday 1 August (men’s individual finals: W1 in the morning and Compound Open in the afternoon), Monday 2 September (finals mixed W1 in the morning, mixed team Compound Open in the afternoon), Tuesday 3 September (Arco Olimpico Open women’s finals), Wednesday 4 September (Arco Olimpico Open men’s finals) and Thursday 5 September (Arco Olimpico Open mixed team finals in the afternoon).
Thursday 29 August begins with the 72 ranking round arrows which determine the scoreboard of individual and mixed team head-to-head matches. At the end of this first day, the opponents and the times of the matches that the Azzurri will have to face will be known. Friday 30 August, from 9:00 to 12:00, the 16th round of Compound Open women and from 3.30 to 7.45pm the 16th round of Compound Open men. Saturday 31 August, from 9:00 to 11:50, the preliminaries of the women’s W1, at 12:22 the final for the bronze and at 12:39 the one for the gold. The men’s Compound Open preliminaries will be held from 3.30pm to 7.11pm, with the final for the bronze scheduled for 7.43pm and the one for the Olympic title at 8.00pm. On Sunday 1 September, the men’s W1 preliminaries run from 9:00 to 11:50, followed by the third place final at 12:22 and the gold final at 12:39. The men’s Compound Open individual preliminaries will take place from 3.30pm to 7.11pm, the match for third place will take place at 7.43pm and the match for Olympic gold will take place at 8pm. On Monday 2 September the W1 mixed team preliminaries start at 9am and end at 12pm, with the bronze final scheduled for 12.35pm and the first place final at 12.55pm. From 3.30pm to 7.50pm the mixed team Compound Open challenges: final for third place at 8.25pm and the one for gold at 8.45pm. On Tuesday 3 September the women’s Arco Olimpico Open will be on the field for the 16th place teams from 9:00 to 13:15, from 17:00 to 18:25 quarter-finals and semi-finals, while the final for the bronze at 18:57 and at 19:14 the one for gold. On Wednesday 4 September it’s the turn of the men’s Arco Olimpico Open: from 9:00 to 15:27 16th and 16th; from 5.30pm to 6.55pm quarter-finals and semi-finals, at 7.27pm the match for third place and at 7.44pm the challenge for the Olympic title.
Thursday 5 September ends with the mixed team challenges of the Arco Olimpico Open with the round of 16 taking place from 10:00 to 12:20, followed by the quarter-finals and semi-finals from 15:00 to 16:40. Finally, the final for bronze at 5.15pm and the one for Olympic gold at 5.35pm.
