Mexican Archers Make Strong Debut at Paris Olympics

Mexico was the protagonist of a great debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, thanks to the performance of archers Alejandra Valencia, Ana Paula Vázquez and Ángela Ruiz, who stood out in the women's individual qualifying round with their best marks of the season, which also earned them third place with a direct pass to the quarterfinals in the team event.

The Invalides venue witnessed the presentation of the women's trident searching for the first places on the way to the direct elimination phase in all the events in dispute.

Valencia, bronze medalist in Tokyo 2020, recomposed her initial performance with the passage of her throws and stayed in eighth place overall with a total of 669 points; while Vázquez took 20th position with 659 points, while Ruiz, a 17-year-old youth, took 24th place with 658 points.

In the qualifying matches that will take place on July 31, Valencia will face the American Jennifer Muciño-Ferrnández; Vázquez will face the German Charline Schwarz; and Ruiz will face the British Bryony Pitman.

In the team competition, Mexico took third place with 1,986 points, only surpassed by the Republic of Korea (2,046) and China (1996), as well as ahead of India (1983), as part of the four nations that advanced directly to the quarterfinals to be held on July 28, with an opponent yet to be defined.

After the outstanding result obtained by Valencia, Matías Grande will have to do his part in the men's qualifying round to ensure the Aztec presence in the mixed team eliminatory, a test in which the country obtained the bronze medal in Tokyo 2020 with the duo formed by the Sonoran and Baja Californian Luis Álvarez.

We did well, and we came out ahead in the face of adversity: Alejandra Valencia

Moved to tears, archer Alejandra Valencia Trujillo highlighted the unity and strength of the Mexican women's team that she forms with Ana Paula Vázquez and Ángela Ruiz after having completed the first phase of the women's qualification of the discipline in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The Mexican trio closed the initial round in third place with a score of 1986, only below the representatives of the Republic of Korea, which scored 2046 points after the individual world and Olympic record of its member Sihyeon Lim (694), as well as the Chinese team, which accumulated 1996 points.

Individually, Alejandra Valencia, an Olympic medalist in Tokyo 2020 and who is competing in her fourth event in the summer event, finished in eighth place with a score of 669, which represented her best mark of the season.

“I feel that it could have been much better, the good thing is that we also finished third as a team, which is something we were looking for to be among the best four, and we have to keep going,” said the Sonoran after finishing the competition.

“I am very excited, knowing that we are there, everything that has cost us, but there we are. I did not feel like I was shooting well, I felt that I could shoot more and I thought that I could not, but they did, and they also showed their strength, we are a team, and it was noticeable that it is part of it, we did well, and we got ahead despite the adversities that there were,” she added.

By finishing in third place, the archers will go bye to the next round, placing themselves directly in the quarterfinals that will be played on Sunday, July 28, a result that Angela Ruiz highlighted in light of the level that was experienced on the esplanade of Les Invalides in the heart of the French capital.

“The level is very high and that excites me even more because it reminds me that I am against the best; The support of my teammates gives me more security and I know that if I am struggling with something I can have free communication with them, it is a job that we have been looking for since the World Cups and the perseverance in all the previous work,” she said.

Experiencing her Olympic debut, the young archer, runner-up at the Medellín 2023 World Cup, said that she is experiencing a host of emotions after shooting her first arrows on this stage and finishing the first round in 24th place individually.

“I am excited, nervous and sure of what I was doing, there are many feelings together, emotion accumulated since the day I arrived, processing many sensations, I have no words to describe everything I feel at this moment, but undoubtedly, I am fulfilling a dream above all,” she highlighted.

Men's archery team meets its first Olympic challenge

Mexican archers Matías Grande, Carlos Rojas and Bruno Martínez shot their first arrows at the Olympic Games during the opening day of Paris 2024 with their performance in the men's individual qualifying round, where they competed for seeding for the one-on-one and team eliminatory rounds.

The current Pan American champion emerged as the most outstanding of the Aztec trident, as he added a total of 676 points that gave him eleventh place overall.

In addition, his mark was complemented by Alejandra Valencia's 669 points to ensure the presence of both in the round of 16 for mixed teams, a test in which the Sonoran won bronze with Luis Álvarez in Tokyo 2020. Grande and Valencia, champions of the Yecheon 2024 World Cup, will face Brazilians Marcus D'Almeida and Ana Luiza Caetano on August 2.

Bruno Martínez scored 653 points (44th) and Carlos Rojas scored 643 points (55th), giving the team a total of 1,972 points and ninth place overall, which qualified them for the round of 16, where the Mexicans will face Japan on July 29.

In the individual matches, to be held on July 30, Grande will face Otgonbold Baatarkhuyag from Mongolia; Martínez will face Cuban Hugo Franco; while Rojas will shoot against Turkish Berkim Tumer.

Alejandra and I are united and strong: Matías Grande

By placing eleventh in the men's individual classification, archer Matías Grande Kalionchiz reaffirmed this Thursday his presence in the mixed team event with Alejandra Valencia on the opening day of the discipline at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The Pan American runner-up in Santiago 2023 had an accumulated score of 676 points, which allows him to face the next challenge with the Sonoran, bronze in Tokyo 2020 in this modality, scheduled for Friday, August 2.

"The mixed team is reaffirmed, we are united, strong, we remain good in the scores, we are happy. The next few days are practice, polishing the things that we managed to identify and learn, to continue giving it until the end, this is not over, it does not define anything and everything has been seen in this sport regardless of the position, it is more about the desires of the athletes," he commented after the competition.

Matías Grande praised the good results they have had together and appealed to the fact that communication has been the key to success and recalled that a year ago, in the same French capital, both competed in the fourth World Cup of 2023, so it is already familiar territory.

“We have a lot of communication, which is what helps us in any type of scenario and competition. We were lucky to have the World Cup a year ago here, the bronze we competed for against China, we are already experienced and familiar with each other, we are sure that we will continue to enjoy it and maintain that communication and an appropriate approach,” he said.

The young archer said he was satisfied with the first performance he made during his Olympic debut and assured that nothing is written, as this individual result is just the beginning of his journey in the Parisian event.

“I felt quite good, happy, enjoying the qualification at all times, it is an excellent field in which excellent results could be achieved; I am happy with this eleventh place, being close to the first places, there is a difference of three or four points and here anything can happen, and I have to continue enjoying it, this is only the first day," he commented.

Matías Grande will return to the shooting line individually next Thursday, August 1, when he faces Otgonbold Baatarkhuyag of Mongolia on the Esplanade of Les Invalides in the heart of Paris.