The Azzurri of the national archery team are ready for the Paralympic games in Paris
The Azzurri of the national archery team are ready for the Paralympic games in Paris
Insights
August 26, 2024
Paris – The national archery team has arrived in Paris. A first group in the morning and the second in the night due to flight delays. The Azzurri will practice shooting in the arena set up in Les Invalides which will host the preliminaries and finals. Thursday 29 August will see the start of the 72 ranking arrows that determine the scoreboard for the individual and mixed team preliminaries. The competition will end on September 5th.
In these days the Azzurri will be on the field for “familiarization”: the shooting tests in the stadium that will host the preliminaries and the finals in the splendid facility set up on the Esplanade des Invalides, the same competition venue used for the Olympics.
140 ARCHERS FROM 47 NATIONS
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 presence: 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 presence: 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 having been 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 debut in Tokyo 2020, while Paolo Tonon, an athlete from Orsago (TV), born in 1989, 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. Yesterday Sunday 25th and today 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 ranking arrows will be contested 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.
OPPONENTS AND OUTGOING CHAMPIONS
For the first time in this edition of the Paralympic Games there will be three archers in the open compound who hold the bow with their feet and release the arrow with their mouth. In addition to the US champion Matt Stutzman, known for his troubled history, international victories and his nickname, “The Armless Archer”, who was the first to use this technique as he did not have arms, the Belgian Piotr Van will also be competing Montagu and the Indian Sheetal Devi. All three have the ambition and possibility of reaching the podium.
The notable absentee of this Paralympics is the Iranian champion Zahra Nemati in the open Olympic arch: winner of 3 consecutive individual golds, the one in London 2012 won against Elisabetta Mijno and the one in Tokyo 2020 against Enza Petrilli, while in Rio 2016 she also obtained the Olympic title and was a starter and flag bearer for her country at the Olympic Games. Nemati, committed in recent years as an ambassador for the rights of women in sport and of athletes with disabilities, will not defend the gold won in Japan, but will be present as a representative of the athletes within the IPC commission. Not even the defending men’s recurve champion, the American Kevin Mathe, will be in the competition, just as Russia will not be able to defend the gold won in Tokyo against the Italian duo Mijno-Travisani in the mixed recurve.
In the compound open, the Chinese He Zihao, the British Phoebe Pine and China in the mixed will be able to defend the Paralympic title won in 2021.
In W1, the champion of the Czech Republic, David Drahoninsky, the Chinese Chen Minyi will defend the gold won in Japan and also in this category China is the defending champion in the mixed team.
THE RACES ON TV
In Italy, the Azzurri’s competitions at the Paralympic Games will be broadcast live on free-to-air TV by Rai Due, as well as on Rai Sport and Rai Play. As with the Olympics, with a Discovery+ subscription it will be possible to watch all the competitions. The live races will also be broadcast on the Eurosport channels on SKY and DAZN.
