The Brazilian recurve mixed team in Medellin was not expected to make waves after a modest qualification. Seeded just 12th, and despite solid individual performances from Ane Marcelle Dos Santos and Marcus D’Almedia, the pair drew host Colombia in the first round.
Ane and Marcus lost the first set and took a draw in the second. At 3-1 down, they found a groove. Shooting consecutive sets of 39 and 38 points, the Brazilians stole the match from the higher-seeded favourites.
That same smooth shooting carried over to the quarterfinals where, against Mexico, the pair shot another 39-point – three 10s and a nine – set to open. Finding little resistance, they cruised to a 6-0 victory.
“In the first two matches we started a bit rough, but then we managed to control it,” said Marcus. “But against Korea, we couldn’t control the wind.”
A semifinal against Kim Woojin and Choi Misun, the top-ranked recurve man and second-seeded woman in the event, didn’t go quite as well. The two Koreans, who hadn’t surrendered a set point to the States in their quarterfinal, kept a clean sheet against Brazil, too.
Marcus, who was runner-up at the Archery World Cup Final in 2014, was happy to take a ticket to the bronze final.
“We had some good shots and then the match went to them, but we still feel happy with our performance here,” he explained.
Ane admitted that she was having problems with her shoulder during shooting, but that she wasn’t letting the uncomfortable feeling control what was going on in her head. She made the fourth round – last 16 – in the individual competition, too, before losing to Canada’s Georcy Thiffeault Picard.
Marcus fell to Ku Bonchan in the third round, and while he has prior finals arena experience, Ane does not.
“It’s my first medal match ever and this is all in preparation for the Games. That’s my biggest motivation. This is the beginning of it, because the Sambodromo, for me, means many things,” she said.
A Rio native by birth, Ane has performed during the city’s annual carnival, which concludes in the purpose-build Sambodromo stadium each year.
“I know the weather, I know the place and I feel comfortable. I grew up there dancing and I want to be there for the Games.”
