ABOUT ARCHERY

Archery featured at the first Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948, the predecessor to the modern Paralympic Games, and has been included on every Paralympic programme since the inaugural competition in 1960.

The object of the sport is simple: to shoot arrows as close to the centre of a target as possible and aim for the gold ring. Athletes shoot from a distance of 50 or 70 metres, following competition procedures and rules that are nearly identical to those used in able-bodied competition.

Athletes compete with both recurve bows – distinctive as the limbs curve outwards at the top – and compound bows, which feature mechanical pulleys, telescopic sights and release aids to assist in accuracy. Archery events using the compound bow are not part of the Olympic programme.