An archer from Waterloo region is heading to Europe to compete for Gold at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Eric Peters is one of the most skilled archers in the world and has been dominating national and international competitions this year.
“It feels crazy, it’s a culmination of all the work and hardship I have been through over my career. While it is just one more step in my career, it’s an honour,” said Peters in a press release.
Team Canada and Archery Canada have called Cambridge home for the last few years as they trained at their permanent facility at Moyer's Landing on Fountain Street.
Peters, now living in Kitchener uses the Cambridge facility regularly with the high-performance manager for Archery Canada, said Kylah Cawley, calling the range a "game-changer."
"We do feel that we have got quite a strong medal potential this year. We've been having a very good year," said Cawley in a previous interview with CambridgeToday.
Peters made Canadian history with his performance at the 2023 World Archery Championships winning silver in the men’s individual recurve event after he faced off with reigning Olympic champion Mete Gazoz in the final.
This performance was Canada’s best-ever result in the men’s individual recurve division at the world championships and earned Team Canada an Olympic spot for Paris 2024.
While this will be the first Olympic Games for Peters, he has represented Team Canada at two separate Pan-American Games.
At Lima 2019, Peters was a double medallist, winning gold in the men’s team recurve and a bronze in the men’s individual recurve.
He also competed at Santiago 2023 placing sixth overall.
More recently, the 27-year-old achieved a career-high world ranking of fifth on June 24, 2024, following his fifth-place finish at the Archery World Cup in Antalya, Türkiye. His latest performance matched his career-best result on the circuit, which he first achieved in April 2023, also in Antalya.
Going along with Peters is a Quebec athlete from Laval Virginie Chénier.
According to Archery Canada, by qualifying an athlete of each gender, Canada will also compete in the mixed team event at Paris 2024.
Chénier and Peters have been paired before winning bronze at the Pan American Championships in April, defeating Argentina with a dominant 6-0 victory.
Canada has never won an Olympic medal in archery.
The best Canadian result at an Olympic Games came in Montreal in 1976 where Lucille Lemay finished fifth in the women’s individual event.
The top result in the men’s individual event belongs to Donald Jackson’s sixth-place finish at Munich 1972.
Archery will take place July 25 to Aug. 4 at the Les Invalides venue.