By Ryan Menzie
Signal Sports Writer
Santa Clarita native Kevin Mather won the gold medal in men’s recurve archery at the Paralympics in Tokyo on Friday. Mather is the lone representative in the Paralympics from Santa Clarita.
Mather’s gold medal win came against China’s Zhao Lixue, beating him 6-4. Lixue was a gold medalist in the recurve team event in Rio de Janeiro. The USA men’s recurve team is currently out of the finals as China looks to defend its medal once more.
Mather blew the gates open with a 4-0 lead, outscoring Zhao by six over the opening two rounds, scoring two points for each round won. Zhao would make a furious comeback, winning the next two rounds. If Zhao had won the final round, it would have resulted in a shootout. However, the final round ended in a draw, resulting in Mather ultimately winning the championship.
