The 26-year Turkish archer Oznur Cure Girdi earned the status of a para archery star at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. She broke the compound women's world record in the ranking round reaching over 700 and preserved her outstanding shape in the elimination rounds.
Oznur captured her first Paralympic gold defeating Iran's Fatemeh Hemmati 144-141 in the final.
They tied in the first end, but as the match went on, Cure Girdi moved on shooting 10s and nines to build a 2-point advantage. Before the last end, she led by 3 points and didn't let the gold slip out of her hands.
She confirmed her dominance and the role of top contender in each match. She seemed just unstoppable. And she was.
“I believed in the medal already after the ranking round and my world record,” the 26-year-old athlete said.
After the final arrow, Cure Girdi burst into tears celebrating.
“I believed I would reach it! And now it's around my neck! I'm so happy. I worked really hard for this. It's great!
She celebrated in a very emotional manner, crying and shouting, but could keep a cool head in the decisive moments.
“Actually, we worked very hard on this, too,” the newly crowned Paralympic Champion claimed.
“We've a huge team, and we practice a lot with our psychologist. In the preparation period, we did a lot of exercises to control my nerves. It helped me during the competition,” Oznur said.
“I tried all those things, I tried to feel the pressure during my training, and then it was easy to control it during the competition. I was used to that. I'm happy I could handle the pressure.”
Silver went to Iran's Fatemeh Hemmati, who beat the defending champion Phoebe Paterson Pine in the semifinal. The British archer left without a medal, as she lost to her teammate in a thrilling bronze medal match.
Jodie Grinham's incredible run for bronze aroused applause and admiration, as she competed 6.5 months pregnant.
Paterson Pine took the lead in the third end and stayed ahead. She needed a ten to clinch bronze or a nine to set a tie with her last shot. She shot an eight.
“Especially with archery, you have to shoot the last arrow. The match is not over until the last arrow,” Grinham claimed.
She prevailed as she pulled two 10s to finish the match.
“I knew going into that last end that I needed to produce good shots. I needed 10s. And, thankfully, that's exactly what I did.”
“I put the pressure on Phoebe, which is heartbreaking, she's my teammate, but it worked in my favour. And that meant I came with bronze.”
Grinham reached her first individual Paralympic medal. She will become a mother soon, but straightly pleaded she would compete at the next Paralympics in Los Angeles, USA.
The competition in Paris continues with W1 and compound men's elimination and medal matches on Sunday.
Podium: Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
Full results on the event page.
Compound women
- 1. Oznur Cure Girdi, Türkiye
- 2. Fatemeh Hemmati , Iran
- 3. Jodie Grinham, Great Britain
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