• Archery

Taljaard’s national gold a timely boost for World Games

• 10 Hours Ago

Swakopmund Archery Club’s (SAC) recent National Target Archery Championship saw archers break national records and proved a crucial boost for Elisabeth Taljaard, who is poised to represent the country at The World Games (TWG) next month.

Hosted at Swakopmund’s SFC Sport Grounds, the Archery Association of Namibia (AAN) event saw participation across seven different divisions, with three para-archers competing in the compound open division.

The outdoor championship saw archers shoot one round of 72 arrows, with eliminations determining overall winners.

Taljaard of Windhoek Archery Club (WAC) scooped a gold medal in the compound women’s division.



A deeper sense of confidence

She said the tournament provided a deeper sense of confidence headed into the global showpiece.

“Despite not mentally being at my best and my focus wavering at times, I stayed in the fight and ultimately clinched the gold medal. This reminded me that even on tough days, I have the resilience and mental tools to reset and perform under pressure,” she said.

Taljaard explained that she managed to pull things together during the elimination round, which ultimately secured her the top spot.

Preparations for the journey to Chengdu have been in full swing for the self-coached athlete, who described them as demanding but empowering.

“I’ve been taking full ownership of my training by analysing my performance, refining my technique and staying mentally sharp. I’m grateful to have a skilled physiotherapist, Anke Albat from Swakopmund Physiotherapy, who will also be accompanying me to China.

“She has helped me fine-tune my form and keep my body in top shape. It’s a real team effort in its own way. I’m doing everything I can to be ready, both physically and mentally, for the challenge in China,” she assured.

Taljaard qualified for the multi-sport event in April by winning gold in the compound women’s division at the Southern Regions Championships in South Africa.



Favourable weather helped break records

According to AAN vice president Jacqueline Coetzee, weather conditions were ideal, helping three archers break national records during the tournament.

Among them was Coetzee herself, who took silver in the compound women’s division and was a standout performer in the robin spot scoring zone, breaking the standing 360 record to 346 and 720 to 688.

Another double-record breaker was Louan Groenewald (WAC), best shooter in the robin spot scoring zone and over-50 compound men gold medallist, who broke the 360 record to 336 and the 720 record to 668.

The third record-breaker was Jan-Lots du Toit of Atlantis Archery Club (AAC), who clinched gold in the compound open men division and raised the 360 record to 303.



More medal winners

Other medallists were Danette Pretorius (ACC), who clinched gold in the compound open women, alongside clubmate De-Villiers Visser, who clinched silver in compound open men.

In the recurve barebow men division, Lutz Wahlers (SAC) clinched gold. The compound men saw Jannie Meuwesen (WAC) go for gold, with clubmate AJ Groenewald securing silver ahead of Eugene Thuynsma (SAC), who settled for bronze.

The compound under-15 boys category saw Janko du Plessis (AAC) secure the gold medal.

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