RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - As the compound open women and W1 men took to the eliminations venue for the 2016 Paralympic Games today, Samantha Tucker (Nampa, Idaho) and four-time Paralympian and 2012 Champion Jeff Fabry (Leemore, California) faced early elimination in their first matches.
Tucker had the only 1/16th elimination match of the day, determining the final archer to make it into the top 16. Seeded 17th, Tucker faced Carmen Rubio of Spain and fell 133-124 after suffering an unscored arrow in the second end when technical difficulties caused the clock to run out. Tucker followed with an X and remained composed to finish the match with strong shots, but could not recover from the deficit in score.
Tucker commented on social media: "Well, my first Paralympics is in the books. It was not the outcome I wanted. On the second end my release would not hold the d-loop. It happens at times and I have practiced putting my bow down, reaching over, resetting it and hooking on. Today that didn't work and I ran out of time. This is just the beginning though! In life, as well as sports, I choose to never really lose. I choose to view events through an 'I either win or learn' lens. Today I learned a lot that I can use in all areas of life. Can I come back from a devastating 0? Yes I can and have - just not in the time left in that match. It is not in the winning that strength is gained but in overcoming the obstacles one faces along the way."
Fabry, who qualified 11th, was also knocked out in his first round. After his second arrow hit the 5-ring, and only one arrow of the entire match broke into the ten-ring, Korea's Dong Sub Koo took the win 140-126 to advance. He commented on social media: "No excuses for my loss, I got rattled and couldn't make my shot. Tomorrow is W1 mixed team. Time to saddle back up!"
Competition resumes tomorrow with Lia Coryell (LaCrosse, Wisconsin) making her debut in the finals venue for individual eliminations and then returning again in the afternoon with Fabry for the mixed team event to conclude the Games. Complete results are available at www.worldarchery.org.
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