Marcos upsets world number 2 for Salt Lake crown

Spain’s Andrea Marcos beat world number two Sarah Sonnichsen, from Denmark, to compound women’s gold at stage three of the Hyundai Archery World Cup in Salt Lake City, finishing the match with a perfect 30.

“The idea was to shoot 10s. I didn’t have clear what I needed to do to win, so I thought about putting it in the middle and seeing what happens. [With the last arrow] I wasn’t sure what I needed, if a nine or a 10, I just wanted to secure the win,” said Marcos.

Three points up after nine arrows on a still-suffering Sarah, who was ill throughout the week, Marcos’ lead dropped to one heading into the last end.

She shot a perfect 30 to finish, Sonnichsen a 29.

“The main game during the final was the wind. It was clear that after the end of the building it [the wind] was going to move a bit the arrow, so the question was ‘how much is going to affect it?’. I think that’s why Sarah chose to shoot second, to check how much the first arrow was going to move,” said Marcos.

“Every time we go to a competition, we are all expecting to make the finals and go for gold. Once you make it, you get so nervous, that in my case, I’m like ‘I don’t want to go’ [laughs]. There are a lot of nerves involved. I guess with practice you can get used to it, but I still struggle with it."

Salt Lake marks the second major international medal of the 28-year-old world number 12’s career. She won her first stage of of the Hyundai Archery World Cup in Antalya in 2015 – and qualified for the Final that year, where she finished seventh.

Following stage three, Sonnichsen and world number one Sara Lopez – who took bronze – are locked for the 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, while Marcos sits in fifth.

The third stage of the 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup runs 20 to 25 June in Salt Lake City, USA.

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