Great Britain’s Jess Stretton, the gold medallist in the women’s W1 competition at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, increased her own world record for the 72-arrow 50-metre ranking round by seven points to 656 out of a possible 720 during qualification at the third Fazza International Para Archery Competition in Dubai.
Stretton had set the previous record of 649 points at the same event one year prior.
“I'm so pleased with my world record today. All my hard work has been put into practise and I’ve got the result I wanted,” she said.
The women’s W1 event was introduced in early 2014, made its first appearance at the World Archery Para Championships in Donaueschingen in 2015 and was included on the Paralympic programme for the first time in Rio.
W1 para athletes usually have impairment in both the top and bottom of their bodies.
Sixteen-year-old Stretton led a British trio, with Jo Frith and Vicky Jenkins, that swept the individual podium at the Games in Brazil. Her teammate, Frith, holds the matchplay and 1440 Round world records for the division.
The 2017 edition Fazza International Para Archery Competition attracted para athlete entries from 15 countries, with Great Britain’s 10-strong team the largest national contingent in attendence. The tournament runs until 30 January in Dubai.
