Lausanne 2014: recurve men’s competition preview

Preview the Lausanne 2014 Archery World Cup Final in the lead up to competition on 6/7 September.

Categories: compound women, compound men, recurve women

Qualification story

OH Jin Hyek and LEE Seungyun, reigning Olympic and World Champion respectively, only shot at two World Cup stages in 2014. The Koreans did enough at those two competitions – helped by finals appearances at Medellin – to secure Lausanne invitations.

While OH accepted, LEE turned his spot down – and it went to Olympic silver medallist in the team event, Jake KAMINSKI.

The USA seven seed was three ranking points off the pace after Wroclaw, finishing one round earlier than his two-time World Cup Final winner teammate Brady ELLISON. Despite his pedigree at the event, Brady was well in danger of missing out on getting a cap this season.

If he hadn’t qualified, it would have been the first time since 2009.

Shanghai stage winner Hideki KIKUCHI (JPN) didn’t collect enough points throughout the rest of the circuit for a Lausanne invite.

Rick VAN DER VEN (NED) made two finals and a last eight in 2014 – which is why he is seeded number one, while new Youth Olympic runner-up Marcus DALMEIDA didn’t make an individual final until the last stage of the season… but collected points at every leg – earning the Brazilian the second seed.

Defending champion

As well as that Olympic title, OH Jin Hyek’s the reigning World Cup Final winner. He won Paris last year, beating London bronze medallist DAI Xiaoxang in a five-set final.

Ahead of the Incheon Asian Games, huge on the Korean calendar as one of the largest multisport events in the world, OH might just be losing his monopoly on the recurve men’s division.

In 2014, he didn’t make the final at the Antalya stage. OH lost in the last eight.

That’s right: out of seven international events since the 2012 Olympics, OH Jin Hyek has failed to make the last four of an event… once. Ridiculous.

He hasn’t won gold since the World Cup Final a year ago, though!

First round matches

Match one: Rick VAN DER VEN (NED) versus Adrian FABER (SUI)

European Rick VAN DER VEN (NED) – the top qualifier – asserted his claim to the top spot and first-seed invitation to the Lausanne World Cup final by winning Wroclaw gold. And finishing top-eight at Shanghai and Antalya.

Fourth at London 2012, Rick is favourite. His opponent is Switzerland’s representative, Adrian FABER, who has only competed in one Archery World Cup stage since 2011. Having said that, FABER did take Olympic and World Cup Champion OH a whole five sets in Antalya.

In the third round (the first match of the day for the Korean, who had a top-eight qualification bye), FABER won the first set, drew the second – and found himself 3-1 up on an archer seeded 69 places above him at the tournament. OH rallied for the back end, and won the match 7-3 – but it should serve as a warning for Dutchman Rick.

FABER is not to be underestimated.

Advantage: VAN DER VEN

Match two: Brady ELLISON (USA) versus OH Jin Hyek (KOR)

Brady ELLISON – who recently became world field champion – qualified for Lausanne off the back of a high finish at the last leg of the year in Poland.

He was beaten by OH in the semifinals of the 2013 Final.

The Korean was on point after a first-round wobble against young Gael PREVOST – France’s automatic qualifier – who took the Olympic Champion to a shoot-off. Brady only dropped five points in his and OH’s match – but Jin Hyek dropped less, winning in four impressive sets.

Rematch!

Advantage: OH

Match three: Pierre PLIHON (FRA) versus Florian KAHLLUND (GER)

His first year on the international archery circuit, 2014 saw PLIHON make the Shanghai finals at his first-ever international event. He took silver, losing the gold medal to Japan’s Hideki KIKUCHI.

Against new European Outdoor Champion – and another break-out athlete in 2014 – Florian KAHLLUND, PLIHON will need to settle his nerves better than he admitted he did in that last match in China.

Florian won Antalya. His arrow rest broke during the second-to-last set of the final. He picked up his spare (which didn’t have a good sightmark for the venue) and won a one-arrow shoot-off for gold.

The best advertisement we’ve seen for having a reliable second set-up. It’s a fair bet that KAHLLUND will have his with him on Sunday.

Advantage: KAHLLUND

Match four: Jake KAMINSKI (USA) versus Marcus DALMEIDA (BRA)

Recent Youth Olympic silver medallist, world-ranked number 10 and the second seeded archer in Lausanne, DALMEIDA has numbers – and youth in his favour. Marcus, who’s one of the most humble athletes on the circuit, shot his first individual arena match at Wroclaw: when he lost the bronze medal to JC VALLADONT.

Jake KAMINSKI has not shot an outdoor target archery individual international finals match since 2011 – and this is his first appearance at an Archery World Cup Final.

It sounds strange to say about someone who’s such a fixture on the USA team: but KAMINSKI’s actually a bit of an unknown.

Advantage: DALMEIDA

Storyline in short

Reigning World Cup Final winner OH Jin Hyek is shooting versus Paris bronze medallist Brady ELLISON in the first match. It could decide who wins gold.

The extra time behind the string preparing for the Incheon Games could make the difference for OH. He has more podiums per appearance since London than any other recurve archer.

DALMEIDA is already a storyline, and PLIHON’s had an insane first international season.

Exactly halfway between two Olympic Games, shooting in the Olympic Capital – next to the official countdown clock for Rio 2016 – what better time for a new batch of archers to step up and make the Lausanne podium.

Predicting the final: OH versus DALMEIDA?

The Lausanne recurve men’s final: past, present and future? London winner, just two years ago, and the defending Archery World Cup Final Champion shooting against the Nanjing 2014 finalist and…

…the youngest ever athlete to qualify for archery’s premier international circuit!

The 2014 Archery World Cup Final is on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 September. Compound competition is on the first day and recurve on the second. Read news, buy tickets and follow World Archery’s coverage on Facebook and @worldarchery on Twitter.