The three days in the middle of the Olympic archery competition see archers take to the arena, for the first time alone, for the first and second rounds of individual eliminations.
The 128-strong field will be just to just 32: the 16 men and 16 women who gain the opportunity to compete on the individual medal days that conclude the archery tournament at Rio 2016. (The women’s gold will be awarded on 11 August, men’s on 12 August.)
Each day from 8 to 10 August, about a third of the matches take place. Here are eight takeaways from the second day of individual eliminations…
1. Sweet 16, 16, 16
Ricardo Soto, the youngest archer on the field at Rio 2016 at 16 years of age, made it through to the last 16 of the Rio 2016 archery competition.
(That’s three 16s.)
The 13th seed (it would be great if it was 16th) beat Anton Prilepov and Brazil’s Bernardo Oliveira in the first two rounds matchplay.
“I need to be concentrated, focused on the target and shoot the 10 – that yellow ring means everything if you want to win here,” Soto said.
2. Paralympic Champion
London 2012 Paralympic Champion Zahra Nemati, Iran’s flag-bearer at these Rio 2016 Games, took to the field against Russia’s Inna Stepanova, the 16th seed, in the first round.
Nemati put together a 28 in the second set to get on the scoreboard – but couldn’t do damage in the closing series, and ultimately fell out of the competition, 6-2.
“I did my best but my opponent was really good and that's why she could win it. Maybe I couldn't control my emotions and feelings at the moment, that's why I couldn't do my best performance,” said Nemati.
She will also compete at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
3. Brit Power
Great Britain’s Naomi Folkard, shooting at her fourth Olympics, is guaranteed her best finish. The 32-year-old made the last 16 for the third time, but under the current rules will rank at least a career-topping ninth - even if she loses her next match.
She’s got Brazil’s Ane Marcelle Dos Santos in the third round.
4. One to go
Chang Hye Jin, the women’s number two seed, safely made it through to the last 16 of the tournament. She was the second Korean woman to get there after Ki Bo Bae on day one of the individual eliminations.
Just Choi Misun to go.
5. One remains
“It sucks,” said Brady Ellison, when asked how tough it was to face a teammate. He and Jake Kaminski contested a second round match at Rio 2016. Both already had silver medals from men’s team event at these Olympics.
“It’s not really fun to shoot against a teammate at the Games. We want everyone to go forward and get a chance at a medal on the final day, but Jake and I drew each other and at least it was guaranteed for one guy to go through.”
The pair left the coaches off the field.
Brady won the match, 6-2, and advanced to the third round for the first time in his three Games appearances.
“I’d rather lose to Brady than anyone else,” Jake said.
The Rio 2016 Olympic archery competition continues with individual eliminations on 8-10 August.
