Lee, Chang, Schloesser and Bostan end 2018 ranked #1 in the world

Lee Woo Seok, Chang Hye Jin, Mike Schloesser and Yesim Bostan end 2018 as the number-one-ranked archers in the world after the final list was released on 31 December.

The World Archery Rankings are updated every two weeks and after major international events to provide an up-to-date rating of the world’s best archers. 

Ranking points are awarded according to the level of the event, the performance of participants and the time passed since the competition took place.

LEE WOO SEOK, Korea (+113 places in 2018)

A break-out season saw Lee climb the podium at three Hyundai Archery World Cup stages and finish second at both the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final and Asian Games.

Twenty-one-year-old Woo Seok, who revealed during the course of the season that he started archery in school because he thought it offered more snacks, was first seen internationally when he won the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014. It took him four years to arrive on the main Korean squad but he won’t be relinquishing that spot anytime soon if his 2018 form continues.

Lee succeeded European Champion Steve Wijler at the top of the recurve men’s ranking list after the Samsun 2018 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final at the end of the season.

Italy’s Mauro Nespoli and Turkish 19-year-old Mete Gazoz were also big risers over the course of the season.

Nespoli started the year in 24th and finished it in fourth; Gazoz began 2018 ranked 27th and ended up fifth.

Top 5 recurve men

1. Lee Woo Seok, Korea (+113)
2. Kim Woojin, Korea =2 (-1)
3. Steve Wijler, Netherlands =2 (+1)
4. Mauro Nespoli, Italy (+20)
5. Mete Gazoz, Turkey (+22)

Chang Hye Jin, Korea (0 places in 2018)

The reigning Olympic Champion retained her grip on the top spot in the recurve women’s rankings throughout 2018.

She has held the position since 26 June 2017 for a total of 554 consecutive days to date.

Chang’s Korean teammate Lee Eun Gyeong, who won the 2018 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, finished the year a close second after moving up 57 places over the past 12 months.

India’s Deepika Kumari cracked the end-of-year top five for the first time since 2013.

Top 5 recurve women

1. Chang Hye Jin, Korea (0)
2. Ksenia Perova, Russia (0)
3. Lee Eun Gyeong, Korea (+57)
4. Tan Ya-Ting, Chinese Taipei (-1)
5. Deepika Kumari, India (+7)

Mike Schloesser, Netherlands (+2 places in 2018)

Mister Perfect won 80% of his matches in a season that saw him become only the second compound archer in history to have won the triumvirate of world titles.

Having already taken the outdoor crown in 2013 and indoor in 2018, he then won the 2018 World Archery Field Championships in Cortina, Italy in September. Sweden’s Morgan Lundin is the only other compound archer to have achieved this feat.

Although field results are not included in the world rankings, Schloesser did enough on the Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit – winning the stages in Antalya and Berlin – to stave off threats in a season in which no other consistent podium-topper emerged.

Kris Schaff’s victory at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Samsun did help propel him up from 22nd at the end of 2017 to fifth at the end of 2018.

Top 5 compound men

1. Mike Schloesser, Netherlands (+2)
2. Stephan Hansen, Denmark (-1)
3. Braden Gellenthien, USA (-1)
4. Sebastien Peineau, France (+6)
5. Kris Schaff, USA (+17)

Yesim Bostan, Turkey (+3 places in 2018)

The compound women’s division might be at its most competitive at this point, even with the previous incumbent of the end-of-year world-number-one spot Sarah Sonnichsen taking the year off to focus on personal health.

Bostan did enough events and did enough well to pip Sara Lopez, who was unbeaten in 2018 but did not compete as regularly as usual, to the top of the list.

The Turkish archer won her home Hyundai Archery World Cup stage in Antalya, came second at the European Championships and still receives a prop from her silver medal at the last World Archery Championships in 2017.

Lopez, having won five world ranking events in 2018, is in a commanding spot to reclaim the lead early next season.

Trailing her, Sophie Dodemont had a career-best year at age 45, So Chaewon is a top qualifier starting to turn ranking rounds into ranking points, and there are about 15 other women all poised to leap near the top in 2019.

Top 5 compound women

1. Yesim Bostan, Turkey (+3)
2. Sara Lopez, Colombia (0)
3. Sophie Dodemont, France (New)
4. Andrea Marcos, Spain (+3)
5. Linda Ochoa-Anderson, Mexico (+4)

Korea retained its number one rankings in the recurve men’s, recurve women’s and recurve mixed team lists – but it lost top spots in the compound women’s ranking to Chinese Taipei and compound mixed team ranking to France.

The USA remained in the compound men’s team lead throughout 2018.

Sergey Khutakov (Russia), Zahra Nemati (Iran), Marcel Pavlik (Slovakia), Stepanida Artakhinova (Russia), David Drahoninsky (Czech Republic), Jo Frith (Great Britain), Roger Rees-Evans (Great Britain) and Steve Prowse (Great Britain) end the year at the top of the para world rankings.

The World Archery Rankings are maintained by the World Archery results department.