Cuba, Canada, Brazil and Dominican Republic qualify Youth Olympic places
Cadet men from Cuba and Canada and cadet women from Brazil and the Dominican Republic qualified individual places for their countries to the archery competitions at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games at the continental qualifying tournament for the Americas, which concluded on 11 May.
Cuba’s Hazael Rodriguez won the boys’ competition, beating Benjamen Lee of Canada in the final. With two spaces available, both won quotas.
“This has been my first and only tournament out of Cuba. I will train even harder for the Games,” said Rodriguez.
The last two girls remaining in the qualifying event were Ana Luiza Caetano of Brazil and Argentina’s Agustina Giannasio, with Caetano winning gold, 6-4.
“It means a lot to win a spot here. I’m really proud of what I’ve just done,” said silver medallist Giannasio.
“It’s been a long road to get here and it will be great to be able to shoot [the Youth Olympic Games] in my own country.
Due to Giannasio qualifying through competition, Argentina’s host country place was reassigned to the third-placed athlete, Stefany Jerez of the Dominican Republic.
Jerez beat Colombia’s Mariana Ospina in the bronze medal match:
“When the match came to a [4-4] tie, I was very nervous. I knew the next set would decide the spot for the Games. My coach calmed me down and I shot a 28.”
“It feels great to have won. I look forward to doing a great job at the Games. I will train harder.”
Brazil, with the addition of the cadet women’s place, joins Mexico and USA as the three squads from the Americas to have a full, two-athlete quota to Buenos Aires, after it qualified a cadet men’s spot at the last World Archery Youth Championships.
Cuba, Canada and the Dominican Republic join Colombia (one boy’s spot from Rosario) with one.
The Americas is the second of the five continents to hold its qualifying tournament for the Youth Olympic Games, following Asia at the end of 2017.
Places won by an archer are assigned to their national governing body, who chooses whether that quota spot is accepted and, subsequently, the athlete that will attend the Youth Olympic Games.
The third edition of the Youth Olympic Games takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2018.
