Athlete of the Year: World #1 PJ DELOCHE Wins Compound Men’s Award

Frenchman PJ DELOCHE received 26% of the combined poll of the 20,000 public votes – the vote was open online through December and January – and an expert panel. Just five percentage points separated first and third, eight first and fourth.

Long-time top international Reo WILDE, who has won all there is to win in international archery, presented PJ with his award at World Archery’s inaugural Gala at Las Vegas earlier this month. Here are the full results…

 

1) Pierre-Julien DELOCHE (FRA) – 26%

Receiving this Award in Las Vegas was particularly special for PJ: the day of the ceremony happened to be his birthday. 

The reigning world silver medallist started 2014 with a silver medal in Shanghai but needed a great result at the last stage of the season to make the Archery World Cup Final in Lausanne. He managed it, winning Wroclaw – and then making the gold medal match of the World Cup Final. 

In the Olympic Capital – in front of family who live nearby – he lost out to newcomer Bridger DEATON, but managed to retain his number one world ranking on the year.

2) Jesse BROADWATER (USA) – 23%

Jesse BROADWATER won a fourth world title in Nimes 2014 – team indoor – after team indoor in Rzeszow 2009, team outdoor in Torino 2011 and individual field in Val d'Isere 2012. 

He then won his fifth in Zagreb, in a dramatic defence of that world field title – which saw the gold medal match go down to a one-arrow shoot-off.

Jesse’s doing his bit on Facebook these days, too: he’s posting updates from his life as one of the top pros on the circuit.  

 

3) Mike SCHLOESSER (NED) – 21%

At just 20, SCHLOESSER became the first-ever European athlete to win The Vegas Shoot in 2014. He also won team gold and individual bronze at Antalya 2014 – and was European Team Champion in July.

The Flying Dutchman started 2015 with a bang: shooting the world’s first perfect-600 18-metre qualification round in Nimes then winning the tournament. He continued his impressive run of results with a win at the Indoor Archery World Cup Final in Vegas, which is likely to put him back in contention for this list in 2015 – only two months into the year!

4) Bridger DEATON (USA) – 18%

In his first year of World Cup competition, Bridger won the World Cup Final. There’s not a much better reason to put anyone on this list.

Team gold and individual bronze at the indoor worlds; an individual bronze, two team golds, one team silver and a mixed team silver medal over the World Cup stages made DEATON’s debut season an impressive one.

5) Esmail EBADI (IRI) – 12%

At two 2014 World Cup stages – Shanghai and Antalya – his best result was a fifth with team Iran in Turkey… but at the Incheon 2014 Asian Games, the reason Korea has put so much effort into creating and developing a compound team, he won individual gold and team bronze.

That Incheon result: not to be underestimated.

Agree or disagree with the final Athlete of the Year 2014: Compound Men’s results? Tell us on Twitter: @worldarchery