WECKMUELLER in dream school for any archer

WECKMUELLER was excited to shoot the recurve junior final against his good friend Carlo SCHMITZ: “We shoot against each other in training – and sometimes I win, sometimes he does.”

“I hope a little bit that it’s me – but I won’t be angry if Carlo takes gold,” Maximillian WECKMUELLER told us earlier this week. Whichever the result, Germany had the top two spots on the podium.

WECKMUELLER did win, finishing up a head-to-head run that included four-set victories of 119 and 120 points in the quarters and semis.

“My journey here has been great. I’ve shot against top archers and in my first individual gold medal match. Last year I had a team final at the junior Indoor European Championships, which we won, but never an individual before.”

The 19-year-old studies at a high school for elite athletes in Jena, Germany. The school considers excellence in sports just as important as in academic subjects.

When WECKMUELLER joined the programme almost six years ago, he started practising eight or nine times weekly with national coach Viktor BACHMANN. He’s one of several archers studying with whole classes of international sportspeople.

Of course, the school’s given WECKMUELLER time off to shoot in Nimes, though he has brought study material with him to look at in between sessions. His goals for 2014 are both academic and athletic: he’s preparing to graduate and hopes to make the German senior team.

 

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.