QUINN Reddig made history on Sunday when she won Namibia’;s first ever medal at the Youth Olympic Games.
The 16-year-old Reddig teamed up with United States archer Trenton Cowles to win a bronze medal in the mixed team event.
After shooting their individual qualification rounds at 60 meters on Friday, the archers were paired together in mixed teams. Reddig worked her way up in the qualification round from 28th position to 18th on Friday, and on Saturday the mixed teams shot eliminations.
Reddig and Cowles shot against strong teams and ended up in the bronze medal match on Sunday evening against a pair from New Zealand and Chinese Taipei. The duo managed a 5-3 win earning themselves a well-deserved bronze medal for their respective countries.
Coach Frank Reddig commented on how good the pairing was between Namibia and the USA, stating that the pair really trusted each other during the competition.
Reddig then started shooting her elimination rounds in the Women’;s Individual Recurve on Monday, 15 October against Stefeny Jerez from the Dominican Republic.
It was a titanic battle to the very end when the two girls ended in a two-arrow tie-break. The last arrow was measured with a vernier and Quinn was declared the winner by the narrowest of margins. The match was broadcasted on DSTV on Monday night and archery fans from all over the world sat glued to their screens until the last second.
On Wednesday, Quinn shot in the quarterfinal, against an archer from New Zealand, who proved to be too strong and beat Reddig in the elimination round.
During this match, Reddig had the whole of Namibia and other African countries on the edge of their seats and the TV commentator even referred to the Namibian as being ‘;one tough cookie.’;
Quinn and Frank Reddig are expected to return to Namibia at 11h40 on Sunday at the Hosea Kutako International Airport.
