At the European qualifier for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Germany, Elisabeth Straka, Reena Parnat, and Elif Berra Gokkir secured individual quota spots for Austria, Estonia, and Turkey in the recurve women’s division. With just four set losses during her whole run in the event, 24-year-old Straka easily defeated Parnat in the gold medal match.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Straka after she beat Quinty Roeffen in her semifinal in straight sets. “For many, many years I’ve worked for this and now the dream came true.”
Shortly before Straka, the 30-year-old Parnat advanced to the final following a thrilling match that saw the two players tie in the final two ends, 27-27, for the bronze medal.
After losing to Roeffen in the semifinals, the top seed needed to defeat her in the bronze final to secure the third and last quota spot.In the shoot-off, Gokkir scored a perfect ten to guarantee Türkiye’s spot for women in Paris. The 17-year-old said, “I’m happy, proud of myself, and happy for the quota.” For me, it wasn’t finished. I won the match, and I’m still shooting the way I always do.
“I’m proud of myself, but still, we want to get the quota for the team, the women’s team and we will still continue.”
This week in Essen, the recurve women’s and men’s team champions of the European Championships will receive six more quota tickets to Paris.Some individual quotas that were won in this competition, the Pan American Games, or the most recent world championships may need to be reallocated as a result.
Following the last arrow of her semifinal, Estonia’s Parnat acknowledged she wasn’t positive she had done enough.
She added, “I didn’t know what the score was; I was just doing my thing.” “I just knew that I had to shoot as well as I could, without giving it any thought.”
Additionally, it required many minutes for her mentor Siret Luik to comprehend the accomplishments of her pupil.”I just watched her after I finished my shot, and she was kind of like, ‘What just happened?'” And for that reason, I wasn’t really sure if I had succeeded or not. I had no idea where my last arrow had gone because I hadn’t seen it. Due to Estonia’s reserved quota spot, Paris 2024 will mark the country’s third Olympic campaign, after London 2012 and Tokyo 2020.
In the final match of the morning, Parnat led Straka after the first set of shooting, but the Austrian archer improved her performance, scoring 28 points in the final set and 29 points twice in a row to win gold in four sets.
“It’s an amazing, amazing feeling,” she exclaimed. “Normally dreams come true, but mine have come true, and I’m thrilled to be representing Austria at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.”
“My ability to grow stronger when necessary and my happiness that everything turned out the way I wanted”
The men’s recurve quota tournament finals at the European qualifier for the Olympics this summer mark the continuation of competition. Archers aiming for three tickets come from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom.
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