Kevin Stone Competes Head-to-Head with Top Seed
Athens, Greece (USOC) - America’s Kevin Stone (Adrian, Mich.) went head-to-head with the number one seed in Men’s Individual-W2 Archery Division on Thursday eventually loosing to Korea’s Hong Gu Lee. “I made him sweat,” says Stone.
At the completion of the first end, Stone, who was ranked 16th after the ranking round, was tied with Lee. By the second end Stone was down by two points: 104 to 106. Lee finished off the competition by accumulating ten points more than Stone, 152 to 162.
“I went into the match against the Korean with a take no prisoners attitude,” explains Stone. “I had nothing to lose. I made it a competition and I think he was a little nervous. I have no regrets about how I performed.”
Prior to meeting Lee in the 1/8 round, Stone defeated Germany’s Hermann Nortmann in the 1/16 round. “That round was a nail biter,” says Stone. “I have not experienced exhilaration on the field like that, except at Paralympic trials.” In the 1/16 round Nortmann was beating Stone until the third end. Thanks to a poorly placed five point arrow by the German and Stone continuing to hit eights and nines, he pulled out the win with his last six arrows.
Competing at his first Paralympic Games, Stone had to wait seven days for archery competition to begin before he took the field at the Olympic Baseball Centre. “This is cool,” says an excited Stone. “I faced this [the Paralympic Games] as just another tournament and did not let the anxiety of competing at the Paralympic Games get to me. I excelled on some of my shots. I felt good and relaxed.”
Glen Harris, coach of the American team, was given a huge compliment by a member of the Italian team. “We have been watching the Americans. You are getting better and the team is growing bigger.” An indication that the U.S. team is a force to reckon with.
Results:
1/16 Round
1. Stone, Kevin (Adrain, Mich.), 147; 2. Nortmann, Hermann, GER, 145
1/8 Round
1. Lee, Hong Gu, KOR, 162; 2. Stone, Kevin, USA, 152
posted September 23, 2004
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