Tokyo Olympics 2020: Australian female archers’ racing the clock to qualify
While Australia’s men’s trio has been locked and loaded to compete at the Tokyo Olympics for months, our female archers aren’t so lucky. They’ll have to wait until up to a month out from the historic event to find out whether they even have a spot.
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COVID-19 has forced Australia’s female archers to wait until the very last minute to qualify for the postponed Tokyo 2021 Olympics, with the final deadline set for just one month out from the Games.
While the trio of men’s recurve archers — Taylor Worth, David Barnes and Ryan Tyack — have been locked and loaded for Tokyo since March, Australia’s women aren’t so lucky.
Victorian Laura Paeglis, Queenslander Alice Ingley — who represented Australia in Rio — and New South Wales’ Melissa Spinocchia are all in contention for an individual quota spot.
But the effects of COVID-19 meant that the qualifying event, the Oceania Championships, was cancelled in June, which Archery Australia boss Rick Hastie confirmed meant the trio will be forced to wait until just weeks out from a potential Olympic Games to know if they’re in.
“Currently Australia have only secured quota spots in the men’s side of the archery,” he told News Corp Australia.
“We have the opportunity to secure a female quota spot first in the Oceania Championships (provisionally pencilled in for early June 2020) held in Fiji and then at the final Olympic qualification tournament on the 18-20th June 2021 in Paris.”
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The Tokyo Olympics — which were postponed earlier this year due to COVID-19 — are slated to begin on July 21, 2021.
It is a situation that qualified Olympic bronze medallist Worth has sympathy for.
“I really feel for them,” he said.
“It’s hard enough for us knowing this far out that if it goes ahead, we’re going.
“But for those that are still fighting for that spot that may or may not go, even if the Games go ahead … I feel for our women.
“They’ve got it much tougher than us.”
Originally published as Tokyo Olympics 2020: Australian female archers’ racing the clock to qualify