USA men won’t shoot for Wroclaw compound gold: Mexico make another team final

“I’m kind of nervous now,” said Mario CARDOSO, showing his shaking hands after Mexico’s semifinal match with the USA. “It’s pretty amazing.”

“We’ve had a great team all year, but we’ve become more consistent recently,” he explained. CARDOSO admitted that he, ALVARADO and FIERRO weren’t favoured over the USA men – who won team gold at both the first two stages this year, before being relegated to silver by the Netherlands in Antalya.

Only a point separated the two teams. Final score: 232-231 – and for the first time this season, WILDE, GELLENTHIEN and DEATON will shoot for bronze, not gold.

The Mexican compound men, recurve men and women, and mixed team, will all shoot for gold in Wroclaw.

"I knew that the recurve boys were in the gold final but I didn't know about the girls. That's tremendous,” said CARDOSO, explaining that the entire Mexican squad had been working hard on its team game.

Number one seeded Denmark beat Italy in the other compound men’s semifinal, also by a point.

The compound women’s team final is a rematch of the gold medal match in Antalya, the previous World Cup stage. In Turkey, the USA were handed their first team loss of the season by Russia.

While the States trio cruised into the Wroclaw final, top seeded Russia struggled in their semifinal: they trailed fourth seed Colombia by four points after two ends.

“When we saw the score, we thought we were too far behind,” said two-time individual world champion Albina LOGINOVA. “We just told ourselves that we could come back.”

Two 59-point sets later the Russians were back on track, and on route to a 230-227 match win.

While LOGINOVA will shoot in two finals in Wroclaw this Saturday, her focus is elsewhere: “It’s enough for now! The most important thing for me was to qualify for the World Cup Final.”

“I’m in.”

Follow results from the last 2014 Archery World Cup stage in Wroclaw.