Paralympic archers: Mel Clarke and Dani Brown

July 8, 2024

Impressive pair Dani Brown and Mel Clarke swept up at London 2012 bagging both the gold and silver respectively. We spoke to them as they prepare for Rio 2016 about their hopes of a repeat performance.

After losing the sight in one-eye in 2003, Mel was told that her archery career was over. But Mel was determined to continue to shoot and worked tirelessly with her trainer to regain her skill. She developed a new way of shooting, tilting her head over in order to counterbalance her loss of sight. In her second Paralympic Games in London 2012, Mel added a silver medal to her collection. She is now hoping to compete in Rio in 2016 and improve on her 2012 result with a Paralympic gold.

In 2012 Dani collected her second consecutive Paralympic gold medal. A couple of weeks later she became the first Paralympian to compete in a World Cup Grand Final, and picked up the silver medal in Tokyo. Sportsister spoke to this high-achieving duo to find out what’s next on the agenda.

How did you get in to archery?

Mel: I was running a Girl Guide group in Norwich and one of the girls suggested archery as an evening activity for a session – we gave it a go and I loved it. It was a sport that I could do from a wheelchair, and to be honest, I was that bad at it when I first had a go it was funny – so it was a ‘summer sport challenge’ with a friend after that!

What has life been like since your medal success in 2012?

Mel: Absolutely mental! It’s been great, but busy. I have been very lucky to have had some incredible opportunities since winning a medal in London – I have been on the pitch at Wembley during an England qualification match, presented lots of sports awards, received some sporting awards and titles and spent lots of time in schools talking to kids and getting them involved in sport. All this alongside continuing full time training for the World Championships this year, and ultimately Rio in 2016, it has certainly kept me busy, but it’s been incredibly fun!

Do you think there are enough resources for disabled athletes?

Dani: I have been very lucky to have such a great national body. Archery GB has been very supportive, especially by sending me to able-bodied tournaments so I can gain valuable international experience to put towards my Paralympic tournaments. I find when I am training and competing I am not concentrating on my pain, so in a way my sport has really helped my disability rather than hinder it. I do find generally that there isn’t much media coverage for disability archery, so the London Paralympics were great because we got much more coverage, and the public really seemed to enjoy it too!

Do you think London 2012 had a positive impact on the perception and awareness of archery and Paralympic sports in general?

Mel: London 2012 definitely had a positive impact on archery; there are so many more people in the sport now since the games, and the interest we have seen at our club for ‘have a go’ sessions or beginners courses has rocketed. It’s great – especially the mix of young, old, male, female, disabled and non-disabled people we have coming along.

Dani: Absolutely. The way the London Games were broadcasted was fantastic, especially the way they portrayed us as great athletes in our own right. I have definitely seen an impact on archery, with more people eager to try it out.

Talk us through your training schedule – What does it take to get to the top?

Dani: A lot of hard work! I train 6 days a week – I am at the range for 7 hours a day on average, shooting arrows, working on my equipment and going to the gym. During the summer most weekends are taken up by competitions, whilst the winter has more of a focus on the technical element.

How do you balance you sports commitments with the rest of your life? For example, are you maintaining professional careers as well?

Mel: Balancing general life and training for my sport is really difficult. I have to plan time out to spend social time with my family and friends, and travelling to see them takes planning for good times for minimal impact – but it’s so important too. My family and friends have been the people who have got me where I am today and they are really important. As an elite athlete you have to make sacrifices too – maybe missing birthdays, or events – I am very lucky to have such a supportive and understanding ‘team’ behind me.

I also work for the Youth Sport Trust, Sky Sports and 21^st Century Legacy working in schools and events with young people – getting them active, talking about my sport or experiences or attending sports days/presentations. This is important to me, it allows me to give something back to people who have supported me, and to think that I have the opportunity to possibly inspire someone or change the way they think is a very privileged position to be in.

Natalie Morris,
Sportsister, The Women’s Sport Magazine

Foresters Friendly Mutual Society, providing straightforward financial solutions with a human touch, is proud sponsor of Archery GB, www.forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Paralympic archers: Mel Clarke and Dani Brown

Select a sport

Select a sport

Blogs

Paralympic archers: Mel Clarke and Dani Brown

You may like

Select a sport

Select a sport

Blogs