4-time Olympic archer Kristine Esebua clinches spot for Canada in Paris

Canada added two more qualification spots for Paris 2024 on Tuesday.

Kristine Esebua won the women’s recurve final at a Pan American archery qualifier, while Josipa Kafadar’s semifinal victory in the women’s 49-kilogram category at a taekwondo event was enough for another ticket to France.

Esebua, 39, represented Georgia at each of the four Olympics prior to Tokyo 2020, earning a top finish of 17th at London 2012.

But after being forced to leave her home country in 2019, Esebua, along with her husband and her coach, landed in Toronto, where she’s been ever since.

WATCH | Esebua punches Olympic ticket:

Esebua returned to archery in 2023 after giving birth to twin daughters Elizabeth and Victoria. On Tuesday in Medellin, Colombia, she overcame fellow Canadian Virginie Chenier 6-4 in the championship match to claim the lone Olympic spot up for grabs for each country.

The last Canadian to compete in the Olympic archery women’s individual event was Marie-Pier Beaudet in 2012. At Tokyo 2020, Crispin Duenas and Stephanie Barrett finished 17th in the mixed team event.

Meanwhile Kafadar, a student at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., added her spot in taekwondo at a Pan Am qualifier in the Dominican Republic.

Kafadar previously failed to qualify for Tokyo 2020. She joins Winnipeg’s Skylar Park as the lone Canadians to earn berths in the sport for Paris.

The qualifying tournament concludes on Wednesday.