South African Country Life – September 2019

T

hreading an arrow, she draws

her bow, anchors, aims, exhales

and releases. The bowstring

twangs and an arrow thuds into

the brightly coloured bullseye.

It’s a daily training routine that proves effective

for Luzanne Grant, the South African archer

who holds Provincial Colours in four archery

disciplines, National Colours in three and

Protea Colours in two.

Luzanne collected gold at the 2018

International Field Archery (Women’s Freestyle

Division) Championships, competing against

world-class archers from 24 countries, and set

a national South Africa women’s scoring record

during a 2018 World Cup event in Turkey.

“I like to practise early, every morning.

Starting my day shooting is the best,” she says,

as she lowers her bow and prepares for the

next shot. The elite archer works tirelessly to

regain the edge after an unforeseen misfortune

sidelined her for much of the 2019 season.

In February, one week after shooting an

outdoor field tournament, Luzanne experienced

severe pain that radiated from a small blister

on her right leg. Doctors identified it is a spider

bite that required hospitalisation and several

With precision and passion, champion archer Luzanne Grant

locks eyes on her target and prepares to execute the perfect shot

WORDS AND PICTURES GEORGE ROBEY

Ta k e

a Bow

September 2019 066 http://www.countrylife.co.za