PARIS, France – USA’s archers had a tough opening to their Olympic Games, losing 5-1 to Chinese Taipei in the women’s team competition but they emerged stronger and more confident, with individual matches coming up in the next few days.
The first match of the archery eliminations, the USA trio of Catalina GNoriega, Casey Kaufhold and Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez tied the first end, only for Chinese Taipei to take the next two for victory.
It was an atmosphere none had experienced, with a capacity crowd of 8,000 fans but much was learned from both that and the defeat itself.
“There’s a lot of plusses we can take from today,” GNoriega said. “The result was disappointing and not what we wanted but we’re going to take that into individuals, which we still have, and learn from what we did out there.”
The setting and the occasion were incredible and something both Kaufhold and Mucino-Fernandez touched upon.
Kaufhold commented, “It was great to get the experience with the team today, out on the stage – it’s just a different world out there, with the crowd and the cameras. I think it’s good that we got that experience going into individual matches and mixed team.
“Looking forward I know what I would like to fix. Everything out feels like a blur. I really want to work on staying focused, staying present and making the best shot I can.”
For Mucino-Fernandez, the contrast between the quiet of backstage to then stepping into an Olympic arena was certainly an adjustment. She adde, “You sit in a room for like 20 minutes and then they open the curtain and you walk out to 8,000 people watching and cheering for you and screaming, and that’s when it felt real, so now we have that experience and will learn how to manage the crowd and I’m more confident going into individuals.”
GNoriega will be the first of the four US archers to start the individual elimination rounds. She faces Germany’s Katharina Bauer on Tuesday in the 1/32 round. Kaufhold and Mucino-Fernandez both play their 1/32 matches on Wednesday. Kaufhold meets Fatoumata Sylla of Guinea, with Mucino-Fernandez up against Alejandra Valencia of Mexico.
Brady Ellison starts his elimination rounds against Abdullah Yildirmis of Turkey. They meet on Thursday in the 1/32 round.
USA archers will be in action on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The Friday action involves Kaufhold and Ellison in the mixed team competition. They are third seeds and tackle Uzbekistan in the 1/8 elimination round. The winners will face Japan or Turkey.
You can keep up to date with all the drama and excitement from the Olympic Games with the Paris 2024 Archery Pass. This mobile pass keeps you up to date with competition schedules, merchandise sales, gives you a chance to play USA Archery's online archery game On Target, and provides resources so anyone can connect with a local club to try archery. Don’t miss out, get your Paris 2024 Archery Pass today!
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