Mijno and Travisani take gold after several attempts to wrap up archery in Paris
Three years ago, the recurve mixed team gold medal narrowly eluded Elisabetta Mijno and Stefano Travisani in a shoot-off, but they came back to claim that Paralympic title at the Paris 2024 Games today.
The Italian duo beat Türkiye in the final at Les Invalides.
“It’s amazing; something incredible,” said Travisani. “We shot amazing arrows.”
“The pressure was very high, but we did it!”
Under difficult weather conditions, the Italians showed consistency and tenacity throughout the day, never losing more than a single set in all their matches.
The Italian duo defeated Indonesia and India en route to the final, and their first match was the toughest, as they dropped three set points.
Mijno already bagged bronze in the recurve women’s individual competition in Paris, but her expectations were higher.
Before these Games, the 38-year-old had already won three medals – individual silver in London 2012, mixed team bronze in Rio 2016 and mixed silver in Tokyo 2020 – in four appearances, but she had never walked away with gold.
It’s done now, on her fifth attempt.
“Yeah, finally!” she said, delighted. “Of course, I’m very happy. Today is a new, good day.“
“I’m just a little sad that it’s finished, and tomorrow we will be back home. That’s the sport. A lot of emotions in a short time, and suddenly it stops.“
The bronze medal won individually enhanced Elisabetta’s motivation but wasn’t the only thing that prompted her.
“I was very motivated because I was very happy to compete in this field. Obviously, the medal was important, but I just enjoyed shooting here.“
With a tricky weather on the final day of archery at these Games, the results were almost unpredictable, with 10s intertwining with sixes or fives.
But despite the difficult conditions, the Italians remained consistent.
“The key for me was not to feel fear,” explained Travisani. “And it worked.”
“It was important to repeat the same routine in my mind,” added Mijno.
After swallowing the defeat from Tokyo, the duo set themselves to goal of writing a new chapter every year.
“It wasn’t difficult. Every year, we took it as a new chance and a new beginning. And time just ran. We waited, but it finally happened.”
They have now gilded the chapter of Paris 2024.
As Merve Nur Eroglu and Sadik Savas took recurve mixed team silver, the bronze medal went to Ziva Lavrinc and Dejan Fabcic.
The Slovenian archers faced three consecutive tie-breaks to claim their country’s first-ever Olympic or Paralympic medal in archery.
They won a first one against China in quarterfinals, then lost to eventual champions, Türkiye, in the semis, before winning again in the extra time for third place, to India.
“It’s the most beautiful day of my life,” claimed Fabcic. “I’m so happy.”
“This is my fourth Paralympics in a third different sport, and now I get the first medal. I worked for that for at least 20 years.”
The 44-year-old celebrated his first medal in thrilling circumstances as Slovenia defeated India in yet another shoot-off, making their joy even more intense.
And to make the Slovenians’ historic feat even more legendary, Lavrinc had secured her Paralympic quota just one month after giving birth to her son. Of course, little Noah was with his champion mother in Paris.
The recurve mixed team’s medal matches concluded the archery competition of the Paris 2024 Games.
Podium: Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
Full results on the event page.
Recurve mixed team
- Elisabetta Mijno and Stefano Travisani, Italy
- Merve Nur Eroglu and Sadik Savas, Türkiye
- Ziva Lavrinc and Dejan Fabcic, Slovenia
