ANTALYA, Turkey - This afternoon, countries at the Archery World Cup were given a last chance to qualify a full team for the Rio Olympic Games at the Final World Qualifying Tournament. The U.S. ranked fourth among sixteen teams in qualification score, but first in loudest cheering section as supporters roared for the team.
Mackenzie Brown (Flint, Texas) was already locked in for the games in the U.S.'s individual quota spot after finishing the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in first, but Hye Youn Park (Cupertino, California) and Khatuna Lorig (West Hollywood, California) needed the team to medal in today's events to clinch their spots. Lorig was fighting to make her sixth Olympic team.
The first match started out rocky, with a 6 for USA and Mongolia took the first set 50-46. Then the U.S. suffered a miss in the second set and was down 4-0. Despite a 5 in the third set, they managed to turn the tables 4-2 and then pulled out an awesome 56 to tie the match 4-4. After a strong shoot-off performance the U.S. advanced to the quarterfinal match with Ukraine.
Ukraine took the first set 52-50 as the U.S. picked up their rhythm. They pulled a tie in the second set 52-52 to bring the score to 3-1. In the third set the U.S. and Ukraine were tied after 5 arrows - Ukraine loosed a 9, opening the door for Lorig to take the set with a 10. Her arrow was also a 9 and the score became 4-2.
Needing a win, the Brown and Hye Youn opened the set with arrows in the red, but with two arrows to go, the score was again tied between the two teams. USA finished with two more arrows in the red rings - Ukraine needed a 7 to win, and they shot a 7.
While the U.S. did not qualify a full women's team, USA Archery is very proud of and excited for the four archers who are going to the Games this summer. Mackenzie Brown will join the full men's team: Brady Ellison (Globe, Arizona), Zach Garrett (Wellington, Missouri), and Jake Kaminski (Gainesville, Florida). We wish them the best of luck as they continue on their Road to Rio.
Complete results from today's events can be found here. For more, follow USA Archery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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