Mel Clarke (born 2 September 1982) is an English competitive archer.

Personal life

Clarke was born on 2 September 1982 in Norwich, Norfolk, England. Since the age of 11 she has used a wheelchair because of an arthritic condition. In 2003 Lyme disease caused her to lose sight in one eye.

Archery

Clarke first tried

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

as a member of the Girl Guides in 1998. She took part in her first international competition in 2002. In 2003, she became the first disabled archer from Europe to take part in an able-bodied event at international level, however it was during this event that she contracted Lyme disease. She lost sight in her aiming eye and had to remodel her shooting style to compensate, developing a stance with her head tilted back to make best use of her working eye. At the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

, held in Beijing, China, she won a bronze medal in the women's individual compound event. Having been defeated by fellow British competitor Danielle Brown in the semifinal with a score of 113–105, Clarke beat Turkey's

Gulbin Su Gulbin , is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Giby, within Sejny County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the borders with Belarus and Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of ...

in the bronze playoff to win the medal. In 2009, she won a gold medal in the team event and a silver in the individual at the World Championships held in the Czech Republic. She was overwhelmed 114-107 by teammate and reigning Paralympic Champion Danielle Brown in the final of the individual event. In the 2010 European Championships Clarke did not rank highly in the individual event, but won a silver medal with the women's compound team. Teammates Danielle Brown and Pippa Britton won the individual gold and silver respectively. Clarke also failed to make the team for the 2011 World Championships, beaten to the mark by Danielle Brown, Pippa Britton and Sarah Beamish. Clarke was selected to compete for

Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

in London, United Kingdom. She took part in the women's individual compound event and advanced to the final to face compatriot Brown. The first two sets were tied before Brown won the third and Clarke the fourth to force a fifth set. Clarke was left needing to score a ten with her final arrow to take the match to a shoot-off, however she was unable to capitalise on this and scored a seven meaning she won the silver medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Mel English female archers Paralympic archers of Great Britain Archers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics 1982 births Living people Archers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in archery