Archers took aim on Wednesday as two rounds of qualifying competitions got underway at Fort York National Historic Site. Fourteen of the 17 nations participating in the 2017 Invictus Games competed, totalling close to 100 competitors, including 19 Canadians.
Team USA competitor Curtis Krenzke advanced to the elimination rounds after posting a score of 209 in the first round and 218 in the second. His mother, Charline Krenzke, spoke about her excitement to see her son competing in the event.
“He has such determination,” she said. “It is quite an experience to witness him competing. He did quite well in the qualification rounds.”
Curtis competed and trained in archery in the year leading up to the Games.
Despite the heat and humidity in Toronto, many fans cheered loudly from the stands, including family and friends of the competitors. One such fan cheering on Team Canada practises archery in her spare time.
“It is nice to see these competitors competing in the same sport that I am familiar with,” she said.
“They also shoot the distance of 18 metres — same with me. They are inspiring to watch.”
While waiting their turn to shoot, competitors could be seen chatting with fellow archers from other nations on the sidelines.
The qualification rounds consisted of men’s open compound, women’s open compound, mixed open recurve, women’s novice recurve and men’s novice recurve.
Competitors in the elimination round will be matched up against another competitor, based on the total scores after the two qualification rounds.
Archery finals will take place on Friday.