Schloesser and Jones take Indoor World Cup titles

The compound gold medal matches at the Indoor Archery World Cup Finals came down to two top seeds and two challengers.

Mike SCHLOESSER is the man of the moment. He shot the world’s first perfect 600 18-metre qualification round in Nimes and then won the tournament. In 2014, he won The Vegas Shoot – this year’s edition concludes tomorrow – and the year before that he became world outdoor champion.

Top seeded over this year’s indoor circuit with top-ranking point finishes at Nimes and here over the two-day Vegas leg, he entered the final a firm favourite. He dropped two points in his first match and then none in his next two.

Against Dane Stephan Hansen in the final, Schloesser was clean for eight arrows. When he dropped one into the nine with his ninth shot, the crowd let out a noise that could only be described as amused disappointment.

Schloesser smiled and cruised a three-point lead the next two ends, eventually taking gold 148-143.

The Flying Dutchman – the world champ’s other nickname – has been extremely impressive recently. But Schloesser does not think it was not that historic 600-round that has sparked his almost casual ability to drill the middle (even more than before).

“The 600 was a symptom, not the cause,” he explained. “I’ve felt more comfortable, confident since before shooting that perfect score. Nothing has changed since – and I’m still feeling good.”

Top seed Crystal Gauvin and defending Indoor Archery World Cup Champion Erika Jones – both from the USA – contested the compound women’s gold medal.

Erika shot a perfect 30 in the first end, going two points up, and never relented. Crystal could not seem to get settled. Erika dropped four points in the 15 arrows – good for 146, a five-point victory margin and a successful title defence.

“I’ve been struggling recently,” said Erika. “I’ve been playing with some stuff on my bow and to come out here and shoot like this was great.”

Jones won the Bangkok stage – but was less than her usual self at the third leg in Nimes two weeks ago. She’s in the top 10 in the Vegas Shoot – but not at the level she was when she broke the 18-metre ranking round world record one year ago. 

“The way I’ve been shooting this past month, I just really wasn’t expecting it.”

All four compound women’s finalists represented the USA. The bronze medal match, held centre stage in the Las Vegas shooting arena, went to a shoot-off. 

Lexi Keller and Dahlia Crook tied at 144 after the regulation 15 arrows. Keller drove home a 10 in the sudden-death decider to claim the match. 

Peter Elzinga and world number one PJ Deloche were also all-tied after their compound men’s bronze final. They scored 149 apiece. Deloche shot a good 10 with his tiebreaker arrow, Dutchman Peter a wide nine.

Deloche, from France, took bronze.