Brazil shock USA and Mexico in Medellin mixed team elims

Just the 11 seeds after qualification, the Brazilian pair left Brady ELLISON and LaNola PRITCHARD dumfounded with a back-half clean sweep on set points in the first round match.

Neither American nor Brazilian teammates expected the win… but it’s the culmination of years of hard competition development in the nation, and a promising sign for the hosts of the next Olympic Games.

NIKITIN and DALMEIDA proceeded to knock out Canada before storming to a 4-0 set point lead against Aida ROMAN and Mexico in the recurve mixed team semifinals.

ROMAN’s experience – though she was shooting with first-time partner Pedro VIVAS – shone through, as Mexico clawed back to a 4-4 draw in regulation sets. It sent the match to a shoot-off.

Both ladies shot eights, VIVAS shot a nine – and it was just 15-year-old DALMEIDA on the line. He shot a clean 10.

“All the work was worth it,” the man of the moment managed to squeeze out, while still in obvious shock. “We made the finals… that’s incredible!”

NIKITIN made the individual quarterfinals at the world championships at Belek 2013 last year, and has been tipped as one to watch in the build up to the next Games.

“This is the beginning of great preparation for Rio 2016, where we’ll be locals,” she said. “There will be podiums to come to Brazil.”

The pair will face Korea in the final on Sunday live on Archery TV.

France and the Netherlands will shoot for compound mixed team gold this Sunday, in Parque Norte – the finals venue for this year’s stage of the World Cup in Colombia.

See scores from the second stage of the 2014 Archery World Cup at Medellin 2014.