Elimination in 2nd Round

Eric got eliminated in the second round today. :(  I got an email from him that explained he just never really got into his groove.  He shot okay; but his competitor shot better.  He lost to a guy from GBR who is now competing for the bronze medal.  Eric's comment was that while in London he's going to finish top 4 in the ranking round so he won't have to face the main competition until the medal matches.  I agree 100%.

He only had 30 minutes of practice time to break in the new release head he put on yesterday.  He said he likes the release head, and will stick with it when he gets home, but definitely needs more time with it.  All in preparation for London!  He has a couple more training camps and his own personal daily training before he leaves to compete in London on August 23rd.

Thanks for all your love and support.  It's appreciated more than words can express.

Eliminations Bracket

Here's a link that shows the elimination bracket for Eric.  It doesn't say when exactly he'll shoot, but I'm going to assume that he'll shoot the first two rounds tomorrow and the 1/2 and finals on Friday.  I haven't heard from him yet to see if he was able to get his new release head working, but I'm sure he'll be ready to go!

European Grand Prix--Ranking Round

Today was Eric's craziest day of shooting yet.  His release head (the device he buckles his bow into, and what holds the string until he's ready to release it with his mouth cable) wouldn't hold any weight on it.  That means that every time Eric would go to shoot, he didn't know if the bow string would stay in place while he aimed at the target.  He told me the bow misfired at least once on every end (there are six arrows shot in every end).  Fortunately there weren't any misses, but he did have a much lower score than he's used to.  He's in 7th place going into the elimination rounds on Thursday.  He should still do well in the eliminations as long as his equipment is working.  Luckily, a local guy is helping him get a new release head and since Eric doesn't have to compete tomorrow, he'll have time to set it up and get it read for Thursday.

I told Eric these last two competitions have been all about getting all the kinks worked out of everything possible so that he'll be 100% ready for London.  When he was at the Endeavor Games in Oklahoma the first of the month, his mouth tab broke and he discovered he had a twisted bow limb.  He got both of those things fixed, and now he's going to be able to fix his release head.  There won't be anything else left to go wrong in London!

A Concerned Question from a 6 Year Old

Often when Eric is away, we take advantage to eat things he wouldn't eat with us (I'm sure you all know Eric is a VERY picky eater!). Well yesterday for lunch, my mom and I decided to order "real" Chinese food, not just from Panda Express! :) We had yummy Sweet & Sour Chicken, Lemon Chicken, Beef & Broccoli and Teriyaki Chicken with white rice, fried rice, and Lo Mein.

Our 6 year old Logan tends to follow in his dad's picky eating habits and so we told him yesterday was a taste adventure and I wanted him to try some of everything and if he didn't like it, he didn't have to finish it. He ended up really enjoying the Sweet & Sour Chicken, the Beef (but not the broccoli), fried rice and the Lo Mein. I was very proud of him for trying everything.

As we were all finishing eating, there was quite a bit leftover. Sweet Natalie suggested we save some for Daddy. I reminded her that Daddy was gone and my mom told her that Daddy doesn't like Chinese food. In fact, Eric's biggest concern in making the 2008 Paralympic team going to Beijing, China was that he would have to eat Chinese food. Does anyone remember this post or this one of him having to eat in an authentic Chinese restaurant?

Anyway, after my mom's comment about Eric not liking Chinese food, I could tell Logan was deep in thought. After a moment he said, "Mom, if dad doesn't like Chinese food, what did he eat when he was in China?" My mom and I chuckled and I replied, "Luckily dad stayed in a place that had a McDonald's and he ate lots and lots of McDonald's!"

I know Eric is looking forward to going to London where he can enjoy lots of fish and chips!

European Grand Prix 2012

Eric left early yesterday morning to travel to Stoke Mandeville, England.  He is competing in the European Grand Prix and he should see about half of his competition for the Paralympic games.  After a very long day of traveling, he was finally able to go to bed and get some rest.  Monday will be practice time on the field and Tuesday he will shoot in the ranking round.  Elimination rounds are Thursday and Friday.  Everyone is having a hard time connecting to the WiFi there, so I'm hoping to at least hear from him every day.  He will return Saturday night, so it's a quick, busy trip.  It will be good for him to be in the same conditions as London and see his competition.  Will keep you posted as soon as I know anything!

I have my flight and hotel to be with him when he competes in London...we're both soo excited!  Thanks for everyone's support.  Everyone has been so generous and thoughtful and we can't express our gratitude enough.