SANTIAGO, Chile – Wilson resident Wendy Gardner got to have a little gold and bronze with her turkey this Thanksgiving after winning two medals in para-archery at the Parapan-American Games this week.
Gardner and Kevin Polish of Carmichael, Pennsylvania, won the gold medal in the Mixed Team Compound Open Para-Archery even Tuesday before Gardner claimed bronze in the Women’s Individual Compound Open division.
“This event is the largest event, next to the Paralympics, for us in the Americas,” Gardner said in a telephone interview Friday just a few hours after arriving back in Wilson. “So it’s a really big step towards going to the Paralympics as far as the competition is really tough.”
Gardner, a Perquimans County native who is ranked No. 1 by USA Archery in Women’s Compound Open, won a shootoff with Yasneide Penaranda of Colombia, 9-8, on Wednesday to secure the bronze medal.
“I felt like I’ve done several arrow shoot offs, and I think internationally I’ve probably won every one I did. I really enjoy doing those,” Gardner was quoted in a press release. “I think most people probably don’t. But I think I like I just like the pressure. It’s fun.”
She even had to overcome getting stuck in an elevator just before a match.
She and Polish won the gold by defeating Diana Gonzabay-Joffre Vallavicencio of Ecuador in the final round 148-143, after clipping a duo from Brazil in the semifinals.
Gardner said that Polish, who is the No. 1 male para-archer in the United States was an ideal partner on several levels.
“I will give him most of the credit because he kept me calm and was he’s a very encouraging Mixed Team partner,” she said.
Polish seemed to be just as delighted with Gardner as a shooting partner.
“Once we found out we were going to shoot together, we came out earlier this morning and we set up a couple trial sessions to practice and warm up, then we started with Wendy going first and me going second,” Polish said in the release. “We transitioned right into it, it was like magic, it was like sliced bread.”
Gardner said that most of the para-archers she’s encountered have been shooting for years but she took up the sport out of the blue less than four years ago. She couldn’t say exactly what qualities have allowed her to excel at archery, but she knows one thing about it.
“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s just something that I enjoy and it’s fun,” Gardner said.
After her first time competing in the Parapan-American Games, Gardner is looking forward to competing in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris in next summer – if she can qualify.
“Obviously, it’s back to train and once we get back on we’ll probably take a little break and then get back with the coaches and just try to continue on and improve every day,” she said.
This is the first time Chile has hosted the Parapan-American Games, an international competition for athletes with physical challenges from North, Central and South America that is held every four years following the Pan-American Games.
Credit: Source link