Kyle Tremblay leads Canada’s Para archery team into worlds after testing season

Kyle Tremblay established himself as a rising star in Para archery through the 2024 Paralympic Games and now he’ll enter the next chapter of his career at the sport’s world championships set for September 22-28 in Gwangju, South Korea.

The 34-year-old from Deep River, Ont., first came into focus in Para sport at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago. In the Chilean capital he won a dramatic bronze medal in the men’s individual compound to earn for Canada a quota spot at the Paris Games.

He would earn that spot later on and in Paris, the wheelchair athlete posted a personal best score with 693 points to place sixth.

However upping that score one more time may prove to be difficult in Gwangju, as Tremblay has dealt with bumps in the road in the post Paralympic season.

‘’This season’s been a struggle for me,’’ he told the Para Sport Nation podcast.  ‘’With these world championships I’m just looking to show improvement, get my scores up closer or right at that level I know I can shoot at.’’

Despite the challenges, he has dealt with physical and health issues as well as a shooting slump, he is going to give it everything he’s got at worlds.

‘’I’d love to come away with a podium finish. But the most important thing for me is to shoot well under pressure, get my technique down that I’m shooting good arrows and good scores and be confident that when I put that dot in the centre of the target that’s where that arrow’s going to hit.’’

Tremblay learned in the last quadrennial that there is no need to panic at this point in the lead up to L.A. 2028.

‘’Going through that two-year stretch leading into the Paralympics really opened my eyes to how detailed you need to be in this four-year cycle with your training,’’ he said.

Tremblay says his next big focus after worlds are the 2026 Pan Am Para archery championships at which countries can earn quota spots for the 2027 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru which in turn is a qualifying opportunity for the 2028 Paralympic Games.

Also named to the team for the worlds were Daniel Comeau of Shannon, Que., and Chris Waterman of Winnipeg, also in compound open and Jean-François Lavergne of St. Raymond, Que., in recurve open.

Comeau, an Invictus Games alumni, won the silver medal at a Americas World Cup in July and combined forces with Tremblay for another runner-up finish in recurve doubles. Last month in Chicago he added a silver in the compound men’s open.