Gotland gold rush

By junior reporter Rebecca Hind

Gotland archer Rebekka Gannholm enjoyed a gold rush at the Guernsey 2023 Island Games. Rebekka, returning for her third Island Games, hit the bullseye to become a triple gold medallist, but admitted the conditions had been a challenge,

“There’s been one wind at the target and one wind at the shooting line”. 

The archers had to adapt to the changing weather, making each shot very important. As she says, “Every arrow and every end are new”.

Speaking with her before her last event, she had won two golds in the 1440 Women’s Recurve and Mixed Recurve Head-to-Head Team Knockout. However, that came with some pressure and the expectations of an equally good performance. Even with her tremendous success in the last few days, she hadn’t taken it lightly, adding that she was “a bit nervous actually”.

Despite being an experienced shooter who made appearances in Åland in 2009 and the Isle of Wight in 2011, the competition has still been fierce. There are some world championship medallists and national-level archers among the other teams, making it anything but easy to come out on top.

While Rebekka’s skill was impressive, seeing her enthusiasm for the sport was more inspiring. To her, the best thing about archery is the “immediate receipts” because you “know right there if it’s good or bad”. Rather than waiting for scores or an overall total, the competitors can walk up to the targets after each round to see their own results. Additionally, while the shooting is going on, they have spotting scopes (similar to binoculars) that they can use to see where their arrows have landed.

Rebekka certainly hit her target for this year’s Island Games, winning her three gold medals.