Former Similkameen resident Miranda Sparkes has been cleaning up on the archery circuit this year.
Sparkes, who was raised in Keremeos but recently moved to Logan Lake, took home a silver medal in the women’s team event at the 2019 World Archery 3D Championships in Lac La Biche, Alta. from Sept. 2 to 7.
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Sparkes also had a remarkable individual competition finishing fifth in longbow at the worlds which had 24 Canadian archers, 12 women and 12 men, in four individual categories, including compound, bare bow, longbow and instinctive.
Our 3D women's team is bringing home some new silver 🥈 hardware! Congratulations Miranda, Monica and Trudy! Awesome shooting today!
Notre equipe feminine 3D a remporte la medaille d'argent 🥈. Felicitations Miranda, Monica et Trudy ! Impressionnant, le tir ! pic.twitter.com/Js0L8SCru5
— Archery Canada (@ArcheryCanada) September 7, 2019
“I did well this week,” she said, adding she has been practising hard over the past year to figure out her gaps. “I think that has made a world of difference.
“My original goal was to do better than I did at the 2017 worlds in France, where I placed 21st. I peaked at the right time, so I’m quite proud of that,” she added. “The team competition was just the icing on the cake. I’m really proud of what we accomplished.”
Sparkes also recently won a gold medal at the Canadian National Archery Championships
People ask her if she ever gets nervous during these events but she said, like most athletes, she focuses on her shooting.
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“You know the crowd is there but you tune them out because you have to. If you start paying attention to everything else around you, it’s not going to help your shooting.”
Going forward, Sparkes is looking to buy a new bow and arrows and starting the whole two-year process over again. The next worlds will be held in Italy in 2021.
“Not that many people get a world medal so I feel very blessed and privileged to even have gone through that with two other ladies who obviously helped me get there,” she added.
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