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This article was published 24/09/2020 (2228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For eight years, Rob Cox wasn’t able to compete at what he loves to do. 

A two-time alternate on the Canadian Paralympic archery team (Beijing 2008 and London 2012), Cox was forced out of action up until recently as he had several operations to combat medical issues he was having. He officially got cleared by doctors late last year and several months later, he travelled south to see if he could still shoot with the best. 

“When I came back, I went to a Vegas shoot in February just before the pandemic hit. I went there to see how well I could do. If I didn’t do well there, then there was no way I’d continue on. I would’ve retired,” Cox said.

“But I shot very well. I shot an 885 out of 900. For me, it was the best I’ve ever done. That told me ‘Hey, you know what, I have a chance.’”

Cox, 53, definitely won’t be retiring any time soon. On Thursday afternoon, he defeated Mexico’s Omar Echeverria 142-140 to win the World Archery’s Online Cup of the Americas. The event, which featured some of the top archers in North and South America, was held online. Each competitor was at their home range with a camera capturing their shooting and another one zoomed in on the target. Three judges were assigned to each match and they would make the calls and keep track of the score by watching the livestream.

Once Cox, who was shooting at Heartland Archery, hit his final shot for the win, he couldn’t hide his emotions. He raised both arms in victory and then wiped the tears out of his eyes. The circumstances, thanks to the pandemic, might not have been ideal, but for Cox, it didn’t matter. It was everything he needed to give him the confidence that he might have what it takes to wear the red and white next summer at the Tokyo Paralympics.

“It’s an international (event). It’s me shooting against somebody from another country, and it’s letting me know, and I’m going to start crying again, that I’m possibly back.”
– Rob Cox

“It’s an international (event). It’s me shooting against somebody from another country, and it’s letting me know, and I’m going to start crying again, that I’m possibly back,” said Cox, who earned US$200 with the win. 

“I got a chance to be looked at now. I got a chance to move further on and hopefully make the team that’s gonna go to Tokyo. All I can do is just do my best, do my training, follow my coaches and what they ask me to do and take it from there.”

The event was a bit unusual, but they were able to make it work. There were two online commentators that told the archers when to shoot and called out the scores. If an archer’s shot was on the line and a better view was required, they paused the match and someone at the facility took photos and sent it to the judges via WhatsApp.

The archers were forced to be patient, but Cox had no complaints.

“It’s very weird. It’s the first time I’ve ever done it,” said Cox, who does most of his training in Selkirk, where his family owns Bonded Health and Mobility Services.

“I think it’s really cool but it does take time because you got to check the scores and all that stuff. But I’m happy we’re able to do something, so at least we as archers can keep training, keep shooting and one day, when this crazy pandemic is over, we can get back out there and shoot all over the world,” Cox said.

Despite being out of the sport for so long, Cox appears to be better than ever.

How has he been able to do it? Well, Cox isn’t sure.

“I don’t know. It’s really weird. I don’t know how to explain it,” said Cox, who got his start in the sport in 2002.

“I shot in a tournament this past weekend. It was the match play we had in the Manitoba outdoor provincials and I shot a 147/150 in really strong winds. I don’t know how I did it. It just happened I did really well and I was really proud of myself. And then I came into this and I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. I was nervous yesterday (in the semifinal). I was so, so nervous. My last shot, I thought I was going to miss it. I took forever to take the shot. They were saying ‘OK, Canada, you can shoot. Rob, you can shoot.’ And I went ‘Yes, I know.’ But I was afraid I’d miss that shot.”

As for his next competition, Cox is not sure when and where that will be. But he’s locked in on Tokyo. Although he’s been to the Paralympics twice before, he didn’t get a chance to compete for a medal as an alternate. It remains to be seen how many Canadians will get to compete in para archery in Tokyo, but Cox is determined to be one of them.

“If I can keep going the way I’m going, I feel like I can get that No. 1 spot this time. I can be the one that’s actually going to shoot instead of the guy that’s waiting in the wings to shoot. But hey, it doesn’t matter if it’s me, as long as we have an athlete that’s shooting for Team Canada at the Olympics, that’s great. But for me personally, I’d love to be that archer.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31