Medellin, COL (April 8, 2024) – Canadian archery athletes are in Medellin, Colombia this week on the hunt for qualification spots for the 2024 Olympic Games and the 2025 World Games at two events being held concurrently – the Pan American Championships, and the Continental Qualifiers for the Americas.
 
The Continental Qualification started on Monday with the qualification round and elimination rounds and all three Canadian athletes – Virginie Chenier of Quebec, and Kristine Esebua and Stephanie Barret of Ontario have advanced to the quarterfinals taking place on Tuesday. The top-2 athletes from the competition tomorrow will qualify a spot for their country for Paris (1 athlete per country).
 
“Our team has put in a lot of effort during the off-season getting ready for the competition season,” said Ron Van der Hoff, National Coach Advisor for Archery Canada. “I have great confidence in our archers’ abilities to rise to the occasion. It’s important to remember that in archery, every match presents its challenges. We’re excited for the matches that lie ahead.”
 
The Pan American Championships will kick off on Wednesday with the qualification rounds for recurve, compound, and barebow. Olympic qualification spots are on the line in recurve for Canada’s men and women, with the highest finishing team that hasn’t already qualified, earning a team qualification for Paris. The compound athletes will be looking to qualify for the 2025 World Games being held in Chengdu, China from August 7-17, 2025.
 
Chenier, Esebua, and Barrett will compete in the women’s team recurve event, while the men’s recurve team will feature four-time Olympian Crispin Duenas (ON), Eric Peters (ON) who recently won silver at the 2023 World Archery Championships, securing an individual spot for Canada in Paris, Deevang Gupta (ON), and Reece Wilson-Poyton (ON).
 
In the compound competition, Canada will be represented by Jordan Adachi (BC), and Cameron Palichuk (AB), and in the barebow competition by Raymond Huang (BC).
 
“The Pan American Championships mark the start of the season’s major events for our entire team, where significant titles are up for grabs,” stated Van der Hoff. “Although we’ve prepared thoroughly, it’s challenging to predict the level of competition from our opponents, who have also been preparing during the off-season. Nevertheless, I’m optimistic about our team’s capabilities. Our objective is to compete at our best level and aim for both individual and team medals at this championship.”

For the schedule and results from the Continental Qualifier, click here.

For the schedule and results from the Pan American Championships, click here.

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About Archery Canada

Archery Canada is the National Sport Organization responsible for the promotion and development of the timeless sport of archery in a safe and ethical manner. Archery Canada supports the achievement of high performance excellence in archery in all categories and the development of a national archery infrastructure to promote archery participation across Canada in cooperation with the Provincial/Territorial Archery Associations.
 
For more information, please contact:
 
Karl Balisch
Executive Director
Archery Canada
kbalisch@archerycanada.com