Sophie DODEMONT: Olympics to elite compounder

“I wanted to try something new,” says Sophie DODEMONT, who contributed to France’s team bronze medal at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, but failed to qualify for the London Games.

“After things did not go well in 2012, I did not want to quit archery and told myself, why not give compound a try?”

What was “just a recreational activity with club friends” at the beginning soon emerged into a more serious activity. Within a year, Sophie became a full member of the French national compound team.

Shooting her first international compound season in 2013, she reached the individual quarterfinals at the Antalya World Cup and earning France’s wild card for the 2013 World Cup Final – the only Olympic medallist to ever compete in this event in compound.

Sophie DODEMONT confirmed yesterday with a 4th place (586 points) in compound qualification in Nimes. Her goal: “a little team gold medal with my teammates Pascale LEBECQUE and Sandrine VANDIONANT would be nice. Individually, we’ll see how things go!”

Asked how she became such a good compound archer so quickly, the 40-year-old has no explanation. “I don’t know why [I am this good]. Maybe I’ve found THE trick. All I can say is I’m really enjoying it!”

Follow Sophie DODEMONT’s progress during individual compound elimination today.

 

The World Archery Indoor Championships is underway in Nimes, France until 2 March 2014. Follow live scores, full results and World Archery’s coverage on Facebook and Twitter.