The World Games 2017 winner Sara Lopez (COL) has this month won the first-ever live remote international Archery tournament, the Lockdown Knock-out. The invitation event saw eight athletes from around the world competing remotely. In the final, where the women’s best met the men’s best, Sara Lopez beat Norway’s reigning World Archery Youth Champion Anders Faugstad, 146-144, to become champion of the tournament. She is our Athlete of May 2020!
The victory secures Sara Lopez a prize purse of 1000 CHF, which she has said she will donate to charities combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia.
“I made this decision because even though I’m not receiving the money that I usually get from competitions and other sources, I know that some people need it more right now, especially in my country where the majority of people have lost their jobs and are really struggling to find a way to feed their families,” Lopez says.
“The money is going to a local organisation that works with donations from people in my city; the organization buys groceries and food for vulnerable communities, and also brings food for local dogs’ and cats’ shelters. In addition, it now has a project to buy gloves and masks for doctors and nurses, since the government is not giving them protection at work.”
At The World Games, as normally in other competitions, women and men compete in different classes. In this lockdown tournament, however, they competed – at the end – against each other. Sara Lopez liked the concept:
“I really like competing against men, they always bring their best game and I know I have to shoot my best scores to have a chance to win. For years we have been told that men are better than women, but just a couple years ago we started to realise that’s not true. I believe there’s no difference between men and women in Archery; the only difference would be that sometimes men get ashamed when a girl shoots a better score than them!”
As The World Games Athlete of May 2020, Sara Lopez will receive The World Games Athlete of the Month diploma as well as a branded gift from the Official Sponsor of Athlete of the Month, Protective Life.
ABOUT PROTECTIVE
Protective Life Corporation provides financial services through the production, distribution and administration of insurance and investment products throughout the U.S. The company traces its roots to the corporation’s flagship company, Protective Life Insurance Company – founded in 1907. Throughout its more than 110-year history, Protective’s growth and success can be largely attributed to its ongoing commitment to serving people and doing the right thing – for its employees, distributors, and most importantly, its customers. The company’s home office is located in Birmingham, Alabama, and its 3,000 employees are located in offices across the United States. As of December 31 2018, the Company had assets of approximately $90 billion. Protective Life Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8750). For more information about Protective, please visit www.Protective.com.
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 15-25 July 2021. 3,600 athletes from over 30 sports and 100 countries will take part in the Games.
