12th September 2014

ALL THE ACTION IN THE ARCHERY LIVE FROM HERE EAST AT THE QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK

12 September 2014

17:30 – The Invictus Games celebrate those who put their lives on the line, suffered life-changing injuries but refused to be beaten.

There is now a special exhibition match for the most inspirational archer award. Three archers, Tatiana Perkins and Daniel Crane from the USA and Paul Vice from Great Britain, who were unable to compete in the main competition due to their injuries will shoot three arrows each, using their mouths to draw back the arrow and fire.

Crane claimed the award, presented by Lord Carey of Clifton, firing a ten and a nine with two of his three arrows, and the match was the perfect way to round off an inspiring day of archery.

17:15 – The loudest cheers of the day have arguably been saved for the medal ceremonies of the afternoon’s action.

The whole crowd is on their feet as Great Britain receive their gold medals for the Compound Open Team win.

16:55 – Yet another nail-biting final and the spectators in Here East are making sure their voices are heard as they roar on the competitors.

And Great Britain claim their third gold of the day with a 216-213 victory over the USA in the Compound Open Team.

The comradery between the sides is evident with warm embraces between players and coaches from both sides.

USA trailed by two points going into the final end but they were unable to make up the difference as GB landed in the gold ring with each arrow.

16:32 – The final match of the day is about to get underway with Great Britain facing USA in the Compound Open Team gold medal match.

16:28 – Great Britain claim gold in the Recurve Open Team event with a 6-0 win over the Netherlands.

GB produce a flawless display of arrow work to triumph but the spirit of the Games is once again clear as the Netherlands receive rapturous applause and there are plenty of orange t-shirts on show in the stands.

16:20 - The Invictus Games use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect of those who serve their country.

Georgian Malkhaz Shekelashvili claimed bronze in the Novice Open having only taken up archery one month ago and he spoke about having the chance to compete at the Invictus Games.

“The most important thing for me here is having the opportunity to network with other soldiers as that’s very important for the psychological side,” he said.

“Second for me is medals and winning. These Games give us soldiers more self-confidence and I’m very happy to be here."

16:08 – Plenty of Danish support in Here East as they face Australia for the Novice Open Team gold medal although a toy kangaroo is clearly visible at the back of the stands.

Like in the bronze medal match, there is nothing to split the two teams in normal play with a shoot-out once again being required to determine the winner.

And Denmark take the gold as a small mistake cost Australia – but they are still smiling as they soak up the reception from the crowd after another fantastic match.

15:38 – Huge tension in Here East as Great Britain and Italy go to a shoot-out for the bronze medal. After they had finished the four sets tied at 2-2, each of the three competitors had one arrow with the best combined score taking the medal.

Great Britain’s Declan O’Halloran turned conductor to rally the crowd and there was a huge noise as the competitors raised their bows.

And GB fed off the atmosphere to win on the final arrow, with the spectators raising the roof of the arena as the result was confirmed.

15:12 – That’s it for the individual competition in the archery – next is the team competitions in the Novice, Recurve and Compound.

First up is Great Britain against Italy in the Novice Open Team bronze medal match.

14:58 – Italy’s Fabio Tomasulo claims gold in the Novice Open, beating Great Britain’s Paul Twaites 7-1 and there are great celebrations amongst the Italian contingent.

But there is a great roar for Twaites as he leaves the stage with many spectators up on their feet to congratulate him on his silver medal.

The bronze medal went the way of Georgia’s Malkhaz Shekelashvili who beat Denmak’s Christian Richardson in four sets.

14:30 – Great Britain’s Paul Twaites displays the true spirit of the Invictus Games to reach the Novice Open gold medal match.

Twaites led 4-0 against Christian Richardson but the Dane pulled things back to 4-4 before Twaites won the final set.

All those competing in the Novice Open had not picked up a bow before January 1 this year and they have produced some nerveless shooting in front of 700 people.

14:17 – The afternoon session is underway in front of a packed Here East with very few empty seats visible.

The interval saw spectators being picked out to do some shadow archery at targets on the big screen.

The first semi-final of the Novice Open between Italy’s Fabio Tomasulo and Georgia’s Malkhaz Shekelashvili went to five sets, with the former prevailing 7-3 to reach the gold medal match.

13:07 – David Hubber won the first gold medal of the day in the Recurve Open and he spoke about what it means to compete in the Invictus Games.

“For me the whole of the Invictus Games is about proving to servicemen who are in the military or who have left the military that it can be done,” he said.

“I didn’t come here expecting to get this far and I didn’t expect to win. I love the fact that I won but for me it’s not about the winning – it’s about proving to people that it can be done because there are a lot of people doubting their own ability and I think these Games can inspire and prove it can be done.”

12:15 – The morning session draws to a close with the medal ceremony of the Compound Open and Michael Hall, Luc Martin and Michael Burkett embrace on the podium.

The crowd in Here East have been treated to some incredible archery, the Compound Open final between Luc Martin and Richard Burkett a fitting way to finish proceedings.

It has been a strong morning for Great Britain who have taken a gold, a silver and two bronze medals, the USA claiming one gold and Canada one silver.

12:10 – Canada’s Luc Martin and USA’s Richard Burkett came out to a fervent atmosphere ahead of their gold medal match, the pair sharing an embrace as they were introduced to the crowd.

And there was unbelievable drama as Burkett claimed gold by a point. The American had trailed by a point in the final end but two tens – the second being awarded after officials got the magnifying glass out to check whether it was toughing the required line.

11:56 – The all British bronze medal match between Michael Hall and Carl Harding was as tight as the semi-finals that had gone before them.

They showed they would not be overcome following their semi-final losses as only two of the 30 arrows landed outside the gold circle.

And it was Hall who claimed the bronze medal, producing five consecutive ends of 29 to win 145-138.

11:40 – Next up saw Great Britain’s Michael Hall face USA’s Richard Burkett and nothing could separate them in the first two ends as matched each other arrow for arrow, taking 55 points out of a possible 60.

With the ten point ring only slightly larger than a 5p piece, the accuracy of the two competitors was being fully appreciated by the crowd.

And Burkett hit that score with four of his final six arrows to edge out Hall 141-138 to seal a spot in the gold medal match.

11:25 – Prince Harry, who championed this international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick service personnel, arrived at Here East for the Compound Open semi-finals.

The Compound Open sees the competitors shoot five ends of three arrows each at three targets from 18m away. Only one arrow can land in each target per end.

The first semi-final saw Canada’s Luc Martin take on Carl Harding of Great Britain, with the former progressing to the gold medal match with some very consistent shooting.

But the spirit of the games was again on show with plenty of Union Jacks being waved as Harding left the stage.

10:58 - The noise inside Here East is simply phenomenal as Steven Gill, Gary Prout and David Hubber receive their medals.

10:56 – David Hubber claims gold in the Recurve Open with a 6-0 win over compatriot Gary Prout in the final as Great Britain take a clean sweep of the medals..

Hubber was injured in 2001 when playing ice hockey for the army and put up with increasingly worsening back pain for ten years until he could no longer continue to do his job. He has used the vigorous training he does for archery to help him adapt to his injury.

Prout was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, the UK’s second highest medal for bravery, for his actions in Afghanistan and has developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome since returning home.

10:41 – Steven Gill, the number five seed, got off to a superb start in the bronze medal match against Roger Hack, producing a ten with his very first shot.

Hack replied in the second set but Gill took the bronze medal winning 6-2 in four sets to draw the loudest cheer of the day so far.

The two athletes shared a warm embrace following the match, showing how much these Games mean to all those involved.

10:28 – Next up was Roger Hack from the Netherlands against Great Britain’s David Hubber in the other semi-final.

And Hubber set-up a final showdown with compatriot Gary Prout as he produced some flawless shooting to win in four sets 7-1.

But the spirit of the Games was clearly evident with Hack still smiling at the end and the crowd appreciating the fantastic display they had been treated to.

10:16 – Invictus is Latin for unconquered, a word that embodies the fighting spirit of these men and women and what they can achieve, post-injury.

And Steven Gill showed all those fighting attributes as he produced a comeback to take the match to a deciding set after Gary Prout started imperiously.

But Prout was able to resist the momentum and take a 6-4 victory to secure a place in the gold medal match with both athletes getting rapturous applause from the crowd as they left the stage.

10:10 – The Invictus Games presented by Jaguar Land Rover are well underway and it is time for archery finals.

129 competitors from 12 countries entered the competition with the qualification rounds taking place at the Mayesbrook Training facility in Dagenham on Wednesday.

That left competitors from seven nations remaining in today’s action. The first semi-final in the Recurve Open sees an all British affair between Gary Prout and Steven Gill and there was an almighty roar from the crowd as the two were introduced.