Athlete of the Week: Jamie VAN NATTA (USA)

 
  Jamie VAN NATTA achieved early success in her career with an individual bronze medal at the 1997 World Championships at age 19. She made her comeback on the international scene in 2005, winning two medals at the Indoor World Championships in Aalborg. Since the Archery World Cup was launched in 2006, she placed on the podium several times, winning her first stage in Dover 2007. She won three team world championships titles (Indoor 2005 & 2007, Outdoor 2011) and won her first individual world title in 2008, a gold medal at the Field Archery World Championships in Llwynypia.   No woman had ever won the World Cup Final twice. The American archer Jamie VAN NATTA, winner of the 2008 World Cup Final in Lausanne, qualified to Tokyo 2012, her fifth World Cup Final.   The current No. 2 of the World Ranking shot her first, and hardest match against the new German athlete Kristina BERGER who made her debut in style, winning four World Cup medals and taking the European individual title this year. Tokyo was their first encounter, and it was a very tight match. Both archers were tied after the first three arrows, and again before the last three arrows, before ending in a shoot-off! The tension was high. VAN NATTA shot first with a good 10, BERGER shot another 10 but the American’s was the closest to the centre, giving her the win!   VAN NATTA went on to shoot the semifinal against the host archer Yumiko HONDA, who had created a major upset in quarterfinal with a victory over the two-time world champion and former World Cup Final winner Albina LOGINOVA (RUS). However she was unable to repeat the performance in the semifinal, and Jamie VAN NATTA claimed an easy victory.
In the gold medal final, the American met the two-time Paralympic champion Danielle BROWN (GBR). The 35-year-old had the best start and kept her advantage through the end. Victory 140-139, and a new gold medal after the one she won in 2008! She joins Sergio PAGNI (Compound Men, 2009 & 2010) and Brady ELLISON (Recurve Men, 2010 & 2011) as the only archers to have won the Archery World Cup Final twice.   NB: After VAN NATTA's nomination as Athlete of the Week, World Archery has just learned the passing away of Jamie's father, Lance VAN NATTA, following a long fight with cancer. Lance was for sure Jamie's first fan and a great source of inspiration, but moreover a true fan of archery and well aware of World Archery major events. He will be missed by the archery family. We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Jamie and her family for this terrible loss.   Biography Extract:   Jamie VAN NATTA – Born on 31 March 1978   1st Individual World Cup Final Tokyo 2012 1st Team World Championships Turin 2011 1st Individual World Cup Final Lausanne 2008 1st Individual World Archery Field Championships Llwynypia 2008 1st Individual World Cup Santo Domingo 2008 3rd Individual World Cup Final Dubai 2007 3rd Team World Championships Leipzig 2007 1st Individual World Cup Dover 2007 1st Team Indoor World Championships Izmir 2007 2nd Team World Championships Madrid 2005 3rd Individual World Field Championships Goteborg 2006 3rd Individual Indoor World Championships Aalborg 2005 1st Team Indoor World Championships Aalborg 2005 3rd Individual World Championships Victoria 1997 2nd Team World Championships Victoria 1997   More results information on Jamie VAN NATTA and all other archers on the World Archery website.   World Archery Communication