June 28, 2024
Eric Peters and Virginie Chénier will represent Team Canada in archery at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. They will both be competing in their first Olympic Games.
Peters made Canadian history with his performance at the 2023 World Archery Championships. He won silver in the men’s individual recurve event after facing reigning Olympic champion Mete Gazoz in the final. It was Canada’s best-ever result in the event at a world championship, and the medal earned Team Canada an Olympic quota for Paris 2024.
Most recently, the 27-year-old achieved a career-best world ranking of fifth on June 24, 2024, following his fifth-place finish at the Archery World Cup in Antalya, Turkey. He matched his career-best result on the tour, achieved in April 2023, also in Antalya. He also reached the quarterfinals at a World Cup in August 2023, which was the official test event for the Paris 2024 Games, finishing seventh overall.
“It’s incredible, it’s the result of all the hard work and struggles I’ve gone through throughout my career. Although it’s just another step in my career, it’s an honor,” Peters said.
Peters represented Canada at two Pan American Games. At Lima 2019, he won bronze in the men’s individual recurve event and gold in the men’s team recurve event with teammates Crispin Duenas and Brian Maxwell. He also competed at the 2023 Santiago Games, where he and Chénier were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the mixed team event, finishing sixth overall.
For Chénier, 29, this was her third consecutive Pan Am Games appearance. She made her Pan Am Games debut at Toronto 2015 and represented Team Canada again at Lima 2019. She was the top-ranked Canadian athlete in the women’s individual recurve event at Santiago 2023, advancing to the quarterfinals after defeating Javiera Andrades of Chile in the round of 16 in a one-arrow shoot-off.
“I am very excited to be selected for my first Olympic team,” said Chénier. It’s been a lot of work and perseverance over the last decade and I feel like it’s finally paying off. I look forward to proudly wearing the maple leaf and being part of such a great team while giving my best on the field. »
Chénier competed with Kristine Esebua in an all-Canadian final at the Pan American Continental Qualifiers in April, which secured Canada’s Olympic quota spot for the women’s event.
By qualifying one athlete from each gender, Canada will also take part in the mixed team event at Paris 2024. At the Pan American Championships which also took place in April, Chénier and Peters won bronze together, beating Argentina by a dominant 6-0 victory.
The archery event will take place from July 25 to August 4 on the Esplanade des Invalides.
Team Canada’s archery athletes at Paris 2024
Eric Peters (Kitchener, ON)
Virginie Chenier (Laval, QC)
