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Picture – Janice, Steve and Melissa receiving medals. |
Monday, October 8 |
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Today started off with a conference call to Melani, Brian and Gary. Unfortunately, I was not able to keep Gary on the line as his cell got dropped. I was able to talk to everyone else to tell them that I had made it to the gold medal round. Then we went to breakfast and over to the archery field to get ready for the medal matches. Eric, our U.S.A. teammate, was to shoot at 11:00 in the bronze match. I was shooting at 11:30 (or half eleven as the British say), and Jeff, U.S.A. teammate, was to shoot at 12:00. He said that was a good time, like 12 o’clock high.
At 10:30 was the bronze match between Melissa from Great Britain and Gil bert from France. In the medal matches, the two archers alternate shooting. They are allowed 30 seconds to shoot each arrow. The whistle blows and the first archer shoots. When that archer finishes, the other archer has 30 seconds to shoot their arrow. The archers alternate shooting a total of 3 arrows. They do this four separate times for a total of 12 arrows. After the 12 arrows have been shot and scored, the winner is broadcast by the announcer.
Melissa started off strong. She was really impressive. She faltered only once and missed. I could hear her arrow shaking in the bow. She said she couldn’t find the sight. But she recovered brilliantly and one the match. She had secured the bronze medal for Great Britain.
Then came the gold medal round. The winner would win gold and the loser would win the silver. I did not feel as calm as I had the day before. Sighting in went well and Courtney got me lined up quickly. I had a good warm-up. Shooting alternating shots is very hard. Since Steve was ranked the highest, he got to choose whether he wanted to shoot first or second. He chose to shoot first. He started off strong. I just couldn’t relax myself enough to get off enough points. Paul kept telling me to just think about a day in the park. I tried, but it didn’t work like it had yesterday. Meanwhile, Steve was strong and only faltered once, shooting the white ring. In the end, he had won the match and the gold and I had secured the silver medal for the U.S. That was quite an experience and one I hope to do again. I wish I had shot stronger, but at least I held on and did not fall apart.
After the match lots of people came over and congratulated me. Lorenzo and Helga from Italy were so happy for me. It made me feel so good to have their support. They told me they think I have the record for the highest score in the semi finals yesterday. They also said something about being a first for a recurve woman. I’m not sure what they were referring to, but I’m sure I will find out eventually. Maybe tomorrow at the banquet.
After winning the silver medal I felt sort of numb. It feels very strange to lose a match and still win a silver medal. The strangest experience though was still to come. Apparently, if a person competes in a medal round, they can be approached by the Anti-Doping Agency to be drug tested. I was immediately told that I would need to report to the Anti-Doping Agency’s booth within the hour to be drug tested. The helpers who were sent to get me, stayed with me to watch me until I reported for testing. My team coaches stuck close to me while I put my equipment away. Then I waited for our team trainer, John, to go with me to the booth. Courtney came as well. We were escorted into the booth. We went in and sat at a table across from the gentleman who oversaw the testing. John helped me fill out some paperwork and then I was asked to pick up a sealed box randomly from a group of them on the table. I did this. Then I was told to take off the seal and open the box. Inside the box was a cup to give a urine sample. I was asked to take the cup out of the plastic wrapping and then he showed me how much of the cup I was to fill up. I am not telling you this to be gross. I just want you to get an idea how seriously they take this and how careful they are to make sure it is done write and no one is accused of contaminating or falsifying the test. I was then escorted by a female helper into the restroom. They do not let you do this alone. Then they walk back out with you and take you back into the booth. The same gentleman asked me to take two containers out of the box and open them. John did this for me. He then was to pore the sample into each container and put the seal on it. He was asked to check the seal to be sure it was secured. He was asked to verify the numbers on the containers. He then took another portion and did a “specific gravity” test. I was asked if I had taken any medications in the past seven days. I was told to write them on the form. Then he asked me if I had any questions or comments about how the procedure was handled. I said everything was fine. It then had to sign the form and was given a paper which he said to keep for two weeks and I left. That was a very strange experience and one that I wasn’t really prepared for.
After enjoying another of Kim’s peanut butter and jelly sandwichs, Courtney and I went back to the hotel to find Sarah who said she would take us to the bank so we could exchange the 30,000 Korean Won for American money. She picked us up and drove us to the bank. We needed our passports to do this. She went inside with Courtney while I waited in the car with another interpreter who was Sarah’s friend. They are both students at the University. They volunteered to participate in this tournament just because they thought it would be fun. Sarah’s friend was the interpreter for the Chinese and Sarah for English speaking people. Sarah said she was a little nervous at first about working with people who are handicapped. She was told to treat us like any other person, that we are no different. She has really enjoyed the experience. Courtney got our money and we went back to the field to wait for the awards ceremony.
The award ceremony was very similar to what you see in the Olympics. They announced the winners by category. When my turn came, I stood behind the #2, to the right of Steve. Melissa was to Steve’s left. The put the medals around our necks as they announced the name and whether it was bronze, silver or gold. They played the National Anthem for Great Britain and took pictures. Jeff’s category was announced just after I was done. He won the gold medal and so we all stood and removed our caps while our national anthem was played.
When we got back to the room and were getting ready for dinner, Sarah called and said she had a present for me from one of the bus drivers. She said he wanted to congratulate me and give me something. She asked if she could bring it up to me. She arrived at our room with a wrapped box about 1 foot long and 10 inches wide. She said to open it. It was a tea set complete with 4 cups and the tea pot and water bowl. She said you put hot water into the bowl, which has a little poring spout like a pitcher. After you put your tea leaves into the pot, you poor the hot water in and put the lid on. After it has steeped, you poor the tea into the cups. The pot has wholes in it to strain the tea leaves. I was overwhelmed by the gesture of the bus driver. The note inside the box said congratulations from Bus driver 1032. I asked Sarah how to thank him for such a beautiful gift. She said “you say thank you.” She said he wrapped it himself in a sturdy box, knowing that I would have to take it home on the plane. What a wonderful souvenir that I will cherish forever.
It seems strange to have my part of the competition over. It has all been a great experience. I never thought I would take it so far and I don’t think it has really set in quite yet.
Tomorrow are the team rounds. We have two teams, the recurve men and the compound men. They are very confident and ready to “dominate.” We will be there to root them on starting at 9:00 in the morning.
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