PARALYMPICS: Archer Stubbs to get his shot in China (From Warrington Guardian)

PARALYMPICS: Archer Stubbs to get his shot in China

4:30am Friday 8th August 2008

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WARRINGTON will also have a representative at the Paralympic Games after John Stubbs earned his place in the disabled archery squad.

The Woolston wheelchair bowman earned an MBE in 2006 after winning gold at the World Championships a year earlier and now he has the chance to compete for gold in Beijing.

Stubbs qualified for the Great Britain team at a shoot-off against fellow countrymen and also defeated many of the world’s top disabled archers to win gold at the recent European Grand Prix in Buckinghamshire.

In addition, he has broken world records on no fewer than three occasions this year - on two consecutive days over a 90-metre distance earlier in the year before setting a new mark of 679 out of 720 over 70 metres.

The 43-year-old will fly out to a holding camp in Macau - the same one that has been used by British athletes preparing for the Olympics - on August 27 before the Paralympics start on September 6.

He will compete against 19 rival archers in the open compound category, which runs between September 9 and 15.

Stubbs, who is a former member of Warrington Wolves Archery Club but now trains in Timperley, said: “My hope will be to win a medal and the way I’m shooting at the moment, a gold medal is not beyond me. I’d have to be in contention.

“I’ve broken three world records this year and I’ve been shooting really well.

“I did well at the European Grand Prix, when the current world champion from Canada plus archers from China and the USA were competing.

“They will be my main competition and I managed to beat them, although I’m not reading too much into that. I know it will be a whole different ball game in Beijing.

“But I’ve got a proven ability to win through in the big events after winning the World Championships in 2005, so I’ll go with that in mind.

“In the head to heads I have the confidence that I can do it.”

Stubbs, who is ranked among the top five in the world, will be making his Paralympics debut in Beijing.

He had not believed that an appearance at the Paralympics would be possible until it was announced in 2004 that his type of bow would be introduced to the event for the first time in Beijing.

And he admits he has surprised himself with his success in recent times.

“Obviously I’ve put in a lot of hard work but I can’t believe how well it has gone,” he said.

“It will be practice, practice and more practice now before Beijing.”

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