Erika JONES opens the World Games with new world record

The most impressive performance of the day belonged to Erika JONES (main photo). The American archer established a new world record for the compound round (2x36 arrows at 50 metres) at 704 points. After placing second at both the Shanghai and Medellin World Cup stages, JONES hopes to climb the highest step of the podium in her first World Games. 
“I shot really well today, especially in the second half,” she commented. “I was really disappointed with my second place in Medellin, because I got second in the first World Cup too. Hopefully this will be better.” 
“It’s awesome to have a small number of people but really high quality,” added the 24-year-old. “It makes for a different experience. The World Games are awesome for us because all the different sports and countries come together, like an Olympic Games, so it’s cool to be a part of this.”
Behind the untouchable American, the most impressive athletes were Latin women, but not the ones that we expected: Medellin bronze medallist Ana MENDOZA (VEN) finished 2nd, ten points behind JONES, and Linda OCHOA (MEX) ended in 3rd. 
Double world champion and world N°1 Albina LOGINOVA (RUS) suffered a weak first half for provisional 9th place, but climbed to 4th after 72 arrows. She will have to perform better this afternoon and tomorrow if she wants to win one of the rare titles still missing among her collection.
Recent World Cup stage winners from the host country, Sara LOPEZ and Alejandra USQUIANO, did not shoot their best today. USQUIANO placed 8th and LOPEZ 21st. 
“I have been practicing a lot lately, but unfortunately I am sick with flu and a throat infection and it did have an impact on my scores today,” explained LOPEZ. “However I will give all my strength for this afternoon’s individual eliminations. We worked really hard Alejandra and me in order to confirm our status and build on our experience from the last events.”
On the men’s side, European champion and former World Cup Final winner Italian Sergio PAGNI (photo) was the top performer. With 711 points, he set a new personal best and an Italian record. 
“Things are going very well, just like in Medellin, I am shooting well here. In training I reached high scores, but I had more difficulty in qualifications. However today my shooting was clean and I was calm. The crowd also gives me this extra support that I need.”
Behind the Italian archer, two men shot the same score of 708: Reo WILDE (USA), in second, and Peter ELZINGA (NED), finishing third and setting a new Dutch record. The American archer, who has won almost every title, the last of which was the Medellin World Cup, is on track to recover the N°1 spot in the world rankings, which he lost earlier this year. As for ELZINGA, he is known to be strong in qualifications but has had difficulty reaching a final in recent major tournaments. The French athletes Dominique GENET and Pierre-Julien DELOCHE, who contributed to their team’s gold medal win at the Medellin World Cup, rounded out the top five in qualifications.
The United States easily led the mixed team ranking by a large margin, ahead of Italy and Germany. The mixed teams will shoot their eliminations this afternoon, followed by the individual eliminations through the quarter-finals.
World Archery Communication