• Archery

Archers pay tribute to Katelynn Venter

• 3 Weeks Ago 25 September 2024

To honour the late Katelynn Venter, a talented and popular paralympic archer who passed away last month, the Atlantis Archery Club in Walvis Bay hosted the Archery Association of Namibia’s (AAN) annual Target Archery Spring Shoot and officially opened the Katelynn Venter Shooting Range.

The first event saw 12 archers from multiple categories being cheered on by friends and archery family as they competed in the World Archery Outdoor Single 720 on Saturday.

The archers shot at distances ranging from 20 to 50 metres, with each participant shooting 72 arrows to determine a final score out of 720.

Following the qualification round, an elimination round was held for classes and divisions with more than one archer, where competitors went head-to-head to determine a winner.



Saturday medallists

The medal winners across the various classes and divisions were Jan-Lotz du Toit, who won the gold medal in the Compound Men Open Standing division, with De-Villiers Visser coming in second to claim the silver medal in the same category.

The Genesis Women Open Standing division saw Danette Pretorius secure the gold medal.

In the Compound Women division, Jacqueline Coetzee reigned supreme to clinch the gold medal. Elizabeth Taljaard earned silver in second and Ilana Malan finished with a bronze medal in third place.

Eugene Thuynsma emerged as the gold medalist in the Compound Men division, with Casper Lottering securing the silver medal.

In the Compound Cub Boys category, Janko du Plessis won the gold medal.

Lutz Wahlers took the gold medal in the Barebow Master Men division.



Sunday medallists

On Sunday, 10 archers shot at a distance of 18 meters in a qualification round of the World Archery Indoor Double 300, where each archer shot two sets of 30 arrows, aiming for a final score out of 600.

After the qualification round, eliminations were held to determine the winners across various classes and divisions.

Jan-Lotz du Toit once again secured the gold medal in the Compound Men Open Standing division, followed by De-Villiers Visser earning the silver.

Danette Pretorius also emerged victorious again, claiming the gold medal in the Genesis Women Open Standing division.

The Compound Cub Boys category saw another repeat of Janko du Plessis taking home the gold medal.

Elizabeth Taljaard won the gold in the Compound Women division, with Jacqueline Coetzee settling for the silver this time around and Ilana Malan finishing with the bronze.

Casper Lottering improved to earn a gold medal in the Compound Men division.

Lutz Wahlers was once again awarded the gold medal in the Barebow Master Men division.

AAN vice president Jacqueline Coetzee said the competition was a nice warm-up for the upcoming Indoor Target Nationals, set to place at Windhoek’s new indoor facility at The Steps Basement on 12 October.

“The nationals promise to be exciting, with more archers participating and competing virtually against archers from South Africa and Zimbabwe,” she said.



Celebrating Venter’s life

Talking about the event’s significance, Coetzee said: “This was a celebration of Katelynn’s life. She was everyone's friend. She planted the seeds for future para-archers to bloom in finding a purpose and sense of belonging in life.”

De-Villiers Visser, a close friend of Venter from Walvis Bay, said he lives by Katelynn’s sentiment of “never stop dreaming” and will carry her legacy forward.

“Every arrow I shoot will be for her. She always reminded me that at every practice or competition, you’re shooting against yourself, aiming to improve. Katelynn lived for archery and gave it her best. I love this sport because, like Katelynn, I compete against myself.”

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