Giuseppe SEIMANDI wins his second World Games gold

The medals for the recurve and barebow divisions were awarded today in Cali. The athletes shot on four targets, facing off against their competitors simultaneously. Each athlete had three minutes to shoot three arrows per target, with maximum potential score of 6 points per arrow. 
All of the targets were on the downhill slope from the shooting position. The first two targets were placed slightly to the right of where the archers shot from, while the last two were on the left. The last two targets were the most difficult, having longer distances than the first two targets. 
For the recurve men, Jean-Charles VALLADONT (FRA) confirmed his dominance over the discipline. The field world champion won the gold medal with an impressive performance over top qualifier Brady ELLISON (USA). He shot scores of 17-17-15-13 against the American’s 15-16-15-14 (62-60).
“Field archery is my thing. Target archery is my job, and field archery is a breath of fresh air,” explained the French archer. “I was not nervous here because I am only shooting for pleasure. It’s the first time of the year that I’ve competed in field archery, I enjoyed it, and it is reflected in the results.”
In ELLISON’s own words, winning the silver medal in his first international field archery was a “huge disappointment”. 
“I’m happy that I made it to the gold medal match, but I really wanted to go out there and shoot 70 points. I didn’t feel like the angles were that hard. I just shot badly, it happens. Hopefully I’ll be at the World Archery Field Championships next year and chase Jean-Charles there.”
In a bronze medal match interrupted by a dog wandering around the targets, Heribert DORNHOFER (AUT) had a near-perfect start against Alan WILLS (GBR) and led 32-28 halfway through. However the British archer outscored his opponent 16-11 on the final target to win the match 57-55 and the bronze medal.
On the women’s side, Naomi FOLKARD (GBR) won the first major field title of her career. Third at both the last World Games and World Archery Field Championships, she shot the final against world field champion Elena RICHTER (GER). After trailing initially, the British archer came back and tied after the second target, and the two archers remained tied at 53-53 at the end of the match. The shoot-off took place on the fourth target, the hardest of all. Naomi FOLKARD’s 5 was slightly closer to the centre than the 5 of her opponent. 
Silver medallist four years ago, Jessica TOMASI (ITA) easily won the bronze medal today over Lisa UNRUH (GER), 58-52.
The barebow men’s final was very tight, with Giuseppe SEIMANDI (ITA) and David GARCIA (ESP) matching each other on the first two targets (14-14, 12-12). The Italian archer made the difference on the third target: he built a two-point lead that he retained until the end; SEIMANDI successfully defends the World Games gold medal that he won in 2009. 
“I had more difficulty to win this time,” analysed SEIMANDI. “Contrary to four years ago, where I shot well everyday and kept improving day after day, here I had a difficult marked course yesterday. It was definitely easier to win the first time, when there was no pressure.”
In the bronze medal match, Bobby LARSSON (SWE) was more consistent than Olivier ROY (FRA): he shot 14 points on each of the first three targets, before concluding with 12 points to win the match 54-51. The French archer ends up at the foot of the podium once again, after placing fourth at the World Archery Field Championships.
Lina BJORKLUND (SWE) established herself as the star of the barebow women’s division. After winning the World Archery Field Championships last summer, she won the World Games gold medal today. In the final, after trailing Andrea RAIGEL (AUT) 36-37 before the last target, the Swedish archer came back on the last three arrows, outscoring her opponent 5-4-5 against 3-4-5. 
“I am really motivated to stay number one,” said Lina BJORKLUND. “We are very close when shooting, especially on these few numbers of targets. Anyone can win, it comes down to who is better on the day of finals. During qualifications, I wasn’t that good. It’s my mental strength that made me win.”
“I train less than the other archers. I don’t have the time: before being an athlete, I’m the mother of two little girls. When I practice, I have them with me almost all the time, and instead of being a distraction, it taught me to stay focused on the target. My mental strength comes from there. Another thing is that I really like to win. I never give up.”
In the bronze medal match, defending World Games champion Eleonora STROBBE (ITA) took the lead from the start against Chantal PORTE (FRA) and never stopped increasing it for a victory 51-46.
This concludes the World Games. See you in for years at Wroclaw 2017!
World Archery Communication