7 Takeaways: Qualification at Nimes 2016

Updated 15:52 Saturday 16 January 2016 UTC+1.

The first big story of Nimes: Park Sehui’s new recurve women’s world record for the 18-metre, 60-arrow ranking round. She shot 594 to increase the 13-year-old previous mark, held by Frenchwoman Berengere Schuh, by two points. Eight more things you need to know…

1. THe cuts

For the second year in a row in Nimes, the compound men needed an incredible 589/600 just to be in with a chance of making the top-32 cut. Five archers had the score this year – for only four places. (In 2015, it was six for one spot!)

Reo Wilde was one of those five in the tiebreaker. He made it through.

The recurve men’s cut was 575, recurve women’s 558 and compound women’s stood at 573.

2. PJ Back 

Home favourite PJ Deloche, who hasn’t shot an international competition since the worlds in Copenhagen, dropped a strong 597 for his ranking round. It was two points behind leader Jesse Broadwater, but a successful start to the event for PJ, who said he felt refreshed after his break.

Braden Gellenthien slipped just in between the pair, with 598, to rank second.

3. Mandia Power Pair

Brother and sister recurve duo Mass and Claudia Mandia, from Italy, both shot top one percent scores. Claudia drew the old women’s record with 592 – while Mass had 590.

“She beat me,” he said, with feigned disappointment, before grinning at his even happier sister: “I’m super proud of her.”

(Berengere Schuh, the old record holder, seeded third on 587.)

4. Brady Pips Valladont

Jean-Charles Valladont, Archery World Cup silver medallist in 2015 and a World Archery Field Champion, qualified better than the Korean visitors he shot his ranking round with. The French archer scored 593 – to beat top Korean Gye Dong Hyun by a point.

It didn’t hold up for pole, though, when Brady Ellison took to the line. The three-time outdoor Archery World Cup winner from the USA scored 595 to take the top seed.

5. Better with her Own Bow

Dane Sarah Holst Sonnichsen took silver at the first stage of the season in Marrakesh – after shooting qualifying with her friend’s bow, while he was shooting his ranking round at the same time. She had her own equipment back by the time the matches rolled around, and made her way through the brackets and into the final.

Her ranking round with a borrowed bow was 559 - with her own, 30 points more: 589, and good enough for a shared-top score. The other with ’89 was reigning world field winner Toja Cerne, from Slovenia.

6. Double Trouble

The Latvian archer that we noticed was shooting in both the recurve and compound competitions made the cut… in both the recurve and compound competitions! Julia Oleksejenko: We tip our hats to you! She seeded 22nd in the recurve women’s event with 564 and in the compound, with 577, 22nd as well!

7. Compounders So close…

Martin Damsbo, Bridger Deaton and world number one Sebastien Peineau – the former two Archery World Cup Champions in 2013 and 2014 and the latter a two-time stage gold medallist in 2015 – missed the compound men’s cut by a point.

Qualification sessions three and four run until the afternoon on Saturday 16 January.