CEBU CITY. – The older sibling was seeking redemption after being cut recently from the national archery team while the younger one continued her dramatic progression in the discipline she just took up seriously early this year to correct a spine injury.
Last Friday, Girvin and Gwyneth Garcia proudly shared the spotlight as they ruled their respective events in the 1st Asean Youth Archery Championships here.
Older brother Girvin stood out after stunning Olympus Archery Club teammate and national archer Jonathan Reaport 6-5 in a thrilling semifinals duel on the way to capturing the men’s 70-meter Under-21 recurve Olympic round gold medal.
In a battle that kept the gallery on edge of their seats at the Dynamic Herb Sports Complex, Reaport and Garcia were locked in an epic clash that began with both shooting 29 points — one short of a perfect 30 — in the first round and were still tied at 5-all after the next four rounds.
The shoot-off was just as spine-tingling and decided by the closest of margins.
With victory on the line, Reaport shot first and scored a 9, a feat also duplicated by the bespectacled Garcia, whose arrow was just a hairline closer to the bulls-eye, giving him a nerve-wracking 29-29, 26-27, 27-26, 29-27, 9+ to 9 victory to enter the title match.
The battle for the gold was anti-climactic as the OAC campaigner trounced University of Baguio Archery Club’s Keith Reinan Nawew 6-0 (29-25, 26-23, 26-25).
Following in his brother’s footsteps, younger sister Gwyneth trumped University of Baguio Archery Club’s Michiko Gonzales 668-661 for the women’s under-18 compound individual event.
“This must be my best Olympic round performance I’ve had so far in my career, knowing that I shot my best and Jonathan also shot his best,” said Garcia.
