Berengere SCHUH big sister to RUGGIERI

Laura RUGGIERI grew up with an idol. Photos of Berengere SCHUH adorned her bedroom walls and the young girl strove to emulate her hero. Eventually, she became an elite archer, too – and joined Berengere at France’s national archery training centre.

“Laura could be my little sister,” says Berengere. “We have a very special relationship.”

SCHUH was not supposed to be at Nimes. Recovering from shoulder surgery, she was not ready for selection, but she’s at tournament anyway to support Laura.

“I try to bring her confidence and my experience. The French team have long been waiting for new champions,” explains SCHUH. “They are now arriving.”

Last October, RUGGIERI became team cadet world champion and picked up a mixed team silver medal in Wuxi.

“She’s a very good archer and has already accomplished a lot,” says SCHUH. “Before the Nimes championships, I wrote her a little card telling her that she already has two beautiful lines on her resume – those medals from Wuxi. She has huge potential.”

RUGGIERI proved in Nimes that she is good indoors, too. By qualifying for both team and individual bronze medal matches in the junior category.

Nimes remembers the moment that Berengere SCHUH won the indoor world championships eleven years ago, when she was herself 18 years old. It was the start of a career that includes Olympic team bronze at Beijing 2008 and bronze at the 2011 World Cup Final.

During this five months absence, SCHUH missed the World Cup Final in Paris – and missed archery a lot. Emotions flooded back while watching the semifinals yesterday, thinking what might have happened if she had been on the field.

Today, the lights were on RUGGIERI, anchor archer for the French team in the bronze medal match. Things did not go well: she shot a miss while France was leading.

When a devastated Laura exited the arena, Berengere SCHUH was there to console her.

“I told her that she is not a machine and things like this happen to every archer. It is a mental mistake, a moment of lost concentration. It’s the most terrible thing that can happen.”

“It’s important not feel too guilty. Tell yourself that the team did not win, obviously, but not all arrows from the other team members were perfect, either. There are good and bad days. But it is always hard to digest a mistake like this.”

“I’ve had my bad moments, too. At the 2011 world championships I lost the bronze medal match after shooting my arrows all over the target.”

Laura can take revenge for her loss in the individual bronze match tomorrow. “The goal now is to find the Laura who has the intensity to win. She must put that miss as far from her thoughts as possible, and go get the medal tomorrow!”

No matter the outcome, there will be many more competitions and opportunities. “I see many good things for Laura’s future,” says Bérengère. With Cyrielle COTRY on maternity leave and Céline BEZAULT not shooting well, the door is open for RUGGIERI and SCHUH to become World Cup teammates this spring.

SCHUH, 29, is looking beyond, to next year’s world championships, the qualifiying event for Rio 2016, and a potential fourth Olympics.

Berengere smiles as she says: “It is not because the young ones are pushing that the old ones have to go – I still want to achieve many things!”

Berengere SCHUH at Nimes 2003 photo credit: ARCHIVES/FFTA.

 

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