Nail-biters and milestones: best of indoors

To mark the end of indoors, we’ve selected the best bits of the 2013/14 season – from the first Indoor World Cup stage in Marrakesh to Nimes 2014 and the indoor worlds. Click on the links below after 8am GMT on publishing day (in brackets) to view!

Best scores (Wednesday 19 March)
Best matches (Thursday 20 March)
Best moments (Friday 21 March)
Best archers (Saturday 22 March)

5) She’s just set a new world record, was shooting comfortably well – and everyone’s pick to take Nimes world championship gold. But Erika JONES (USA) found herself up against Great Britain’s Naomi JONES in the second round – and lost.

“She shot good,” said Erika, in summary. “I shot fine, but she just shot better.”

Huge amounts of kudos to Brit JONES for managing to keep emotions, concentration and form in check to put enough arrows in the 10 to derail the campaign of an athlete who had all but taken the title home judging by her pre-event and qualification form.

4) If you had been asked who had probably the best record against Brady ELLISON (USA) in head-to-head competition, who would you have answered with? Korean Olympic champ OH Jin Hyek? One of the young Dutch team… or even a States teammate?

Think again… and step forward Australian Taylor WORTH. He knocked ELLISON out in the second round at London 2012 and fourth rounds at Odgen 2012 and Shanghai 2013 Archery World Cup stages.

Oh, and he hadn’t lost to the USA star…

…until Nimes. ELLISON’s joy was quite obvious when he came back from a third-set disaster to take recurve men’s world championships bronze. (Leading 4-0, he shot just 26 points and let WORTH right back in it… for three arrows.)

This is one match-up we’re praying to see again during the outdoor season.

3) French archer Sebastien PEINEAU’s won his first two Indoor World Cup Final matches with pin-point shoot-off 10s. First knocking out Mike SCHLOESSER (NED) – who went on to become the first every European compound man to win The Vegas Shoot the day after – then Ruben BLEYENDAAL (NED).

It put PEINEAU into the semifinals where he dispatched Levi MORGAN (USA) 6-2, before doing exactly the same to defending champion Braden GELLENTHIEN (USA) to take surprise gold.

If nothing else, PEINEAU’s early-round run at Vegas shows just how important getting some momentum going is in the elimination matches!

2) We already decided the clash of two compound giants for men’s gold was our best match from Nimes. 

Four-time indoor archery world champion Reo WILDE (USA) lined up opposite the Sultan of Smooth, Sergio PAGNI – who had never won an individual world title. A surprising statistic for most, since he’s also the only compound to have ever won back-to-back Archery World Cup Final crowns.

The Italian let slip afterwards: “I wanted my wife with me during the match today, but she was too emotional!” Instead, his two-time mixed team world champion partner Marcella TONIOLI had coach honours. “I trust her, and I know when she’s behind me the arrows go in the 10 ring!”

It wasn’t the most accurate match we’ve seen this pair of super-experienced archers shoot, but it was one of the most intense. PAGNI only dropped three arrows out of the 10, and watched as WILDE sunk his last shaft into the 9 – handing victory to the Italian.

1) Today’s top compounds are so accurate that we get one-arrow shoot-offs which can’t decide winners a number of times every season… but it doesn’t happen to recurves that often.

Korean KIM Yu Mi tied the ranking round world record at Telford, then only dropped two sets through the eliminations – one to Aida ROMAN (MEX), one to Naomi FOLKARD (GBR).

Her final, against LH and Korean teammate PARK Sehui, wasn’t so easy. The pair drew 5-all after the regulation sets, then shot matching 10s in the one-arrow, sudden-death shoot-off! Second time around, they both shot 10s again… but KIM’s was closer.

Honourable mentions: Braden GELLENTHIEN’s double shoot-off to beat Pierre-Julien DELOCHE (FRA) at Marrakesh, the all-French recurve men’s final between Jean-Charles VALLADONT and Thomas FAUCHERON at Telford – and Korean legend JANG Yong Ho’s Berlin Open win over Sebastian ROHRBERG (GER).

Think there was a better match indoors this past season? Tweet @worldarchery or tell us on our Facebook page.