Anderson back to his best after setback
After a motorboat accident that threatened Shaun Anderson's career as a Paralympian archer, he is back and ready to take on the best in the world.
Pretoria’s Paralympian archer, Shaun Anderson, might have shot a South African record last week in his first competition since the boat accident in which he lost the use of his legs.
In the first round at the TuksArchery Competition he shot a score of 305 and finished the day with a score of 586 points. On Sunday his overall score was 576.
It is his score of 305 that excites Anderson.
“We are not sure yet. It might be a South African record in the new category in which I am competing. Unfortunately, I got tired during the second round which led to me making some elementary errors. It costed me valuable points. However I am not too fazed about it. I have only been shooting seriously for the last two weeks. I am not yet ‘bow fit’,” he said afterwards.
Anderson said the reason why he is excited about his first round score of 305 is because if he was able to repeat it in the second round, it would have meant that he would have shot 610. At last year’s World Championships it would have placed him in the top 12th in the world in his category.
“I am confident that it is going only to be matter of time before I will be able to consistently shoot scores of 600 and more. As they say practise makes perfect. I really learned a lot over the weekend. The way my wheelchair is positioned is of utmost importance. I took a few breaks during the competition which meant that my wheelchair was not in the same position all the time. Two inches to the left or right make a big difference,” he explained.
He hopes to compete at the end of the month in a competition in KwaZulu-Natal. He has also been invited to compete in two competitions in Europe.
Anderson, who had his left arm amputated a few years ago after severely damaging it in a motorcycle accident, has got a definite goal in mind. He wants to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. That is just the way he goes about things. No half measures ever. If everything goes according to plan he hopes to qualify for the Games next year July at the World Championships.
He finished 17th during the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.
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