BERLIN, GER- It was a fantastic day for Canadian archery in Berlin today as Eric Peters advanced decisively through the Finals into the Gold Medal match to win the silver medal for Canada; the first individual silver medal in recurve archery for Canada.
Eric has made great improvements over the past year and came out ready to win, through these finals, and it showed every step of the way. With the incredible support of his team staff, Joe Leszner, who stood behind him in the coach’s box, providing an energy that allowed Eric to be at his best, he entered the final match of the day to face Olympic Champion, Mete Gazoz of Turkey. Eric came out strong to win the first set and kept the pace throughout the next four sets, missing the Gold by only a point.
Eric was left feeling on top of the world with this result. “My brain is fried. It’s been great and I’m lost for words,” he said. “Its better than I could have expected.”
Following the Silver medal win, Ron van der Hoff, National Coach Advisor, was quick to recognize the great work that had taken place today and the team strategy that had been followed. “Joe and I made a plan for today. We took control of the environment and Eric was executing what he needed to do. We will now celebrate this historic achievement. And then we will shift our focus to the next plan”
The afternoon had started with Eric facing off against Steve Wijler (NED) in what was at times torrential rain on the main stage of the finals venue in historic Berlin. It was a well fought match with Eric clearly staying dialed in on the target and winning after 5 matches to finish 6-4. This win was followed quickly by another over Arif Pangetsu of Indonesia to secure a sport into the Gold medal match.
Eric has been seeing steady improvements in his performances internationally, having claimed a Bronze Medal at the Pan American Games in 2019 and steadily rising in the ranking at World Cups over the past three years. He ranked 8th at the World Cup in 2021 and last year moved up to 5th place. His performance today also secured an Olympic Quota spot for Canada, a result that capped a week of strong performance from the Canadian team and will set in motion a plan for the next 6 months as additional quota positions are sought during the upcoming Pan American Games later this year in Santiago, CHI.