Kerrie Leonard is set to challenge Jiamin Zhou, the 2016 Paralympics archery champion, in a knockout round of the W2 Individual Compound this coming Friday. This follows Leonard’s qualifying round score of 653.
Finishing 21st out of 28 from the initial seedings, Leonard’s result was not far from her season’s best of 662. Zhou, in contrast, ranked 12th in the qualifiers with a better score of 676. Despite Zhou’s better score in the qualifiers, Leonard entered the Paralympics with a superior ranking of 34th compared to Zhou’s 45th. The maximum possible score from the 72 arrow tie-breaker is 720.
Leonard, who hails from Meath, kept an optimistic outlook. She confessed to having felt tense during the first phase of the competition, which reflected in her subpar season’s performance, but remains hopeful for the head-to-heads.
In other news, Richael Timothy gained seventh place in the C1-3 3000m women’s Individual Pursuit final in the Para Cycling track event. She set a new personal record of 4:05.247 during her qualifying heat. Despite missing some track time this year, she expressed delight over achieving her goal of a personal best.
On the same day, two members from Team Ireland participated in the men’s B 4,000m Individual Pursuit qualifying round.
In a sterling display, Damien Vereker, guided by Mitchell McLaughlin, not only achieved a new individual record, but also set a fresh national benchmark, posting an impressive 4:14.817 time. This feat resulted in them securing overall seventh place. Vereker couldn’t hide his elation, stating, “I’m simply ecstatic! That timing was beyond my expectations. Knocking three seconds off one’s personal best is common, but shattering it by six seconds is extraordinary! We maintained just the right momentum from outset to end.”
Furthermore, ahead of their main event – the Men’s B 1,000m Time Trial scheduled for Sunday, Martin Gordon and Eoin Mullen utilised the occasion as a preparatory run-through. They managed to finish at the 12th spot, clocking 5:27.654.