08 March 2007 - Indoor Archery World Championships in Izmir!

Indoor Archery World Championships in Izmir! Lausanne – 08 March 2007   The 9th Indoor Archery World Championships take place in Izmir (TUR), March 13-17, and are considered as the first major event of the 2007 archery season.   In the modern Izmir Kültürpark Hall, more than 330 archers will compete for the coveted titles of World Champions both in Senior and Junior. In the elite (Senior) category, 60 archers registered in Recurve Men, 46 in Recurve Women, 65 in Compound Men and 34 in Compound Women.   In Recurve Men, Vic Wunderle (USA) will be looking for a world consecration after his silver medal at the Indoor World Championships 2005 in Aalborg (DEN). Serdyuk (UKR), 3rd in Aalborg will also be in Izmir together with teammate Ivashko. However, the two famous Italians, Frangilli and Galiazzo, will be looking for another set of titles in their magnificent careers. The Russians, Badenov and Abramov, the British, Peart and Wills, the Bulgarian Hirstov and the German Rohrberg complete the panel of the favorites.   In Recurve Women, Dorokhova (UKR), 2nd in Aalborg, is also looking for gold this time around as well as her teammate Berezhna. The 2003 World Champion, Schuh (FRA), had some great results this winter like the German Unruh, winner in the Nimes international tournament last January. Valeeva (ITA) is making her return to the high level after giving birth to twins while Cekada (SLO) – Field World Champion in 2006 – will try to transpose her skills to Indoor.   There will be a major battle in the Compound Men category. The two times Indoor World Champion and the winner of the 2006 World Cup, Reo Wilde (USA), is still eager to win. The two times Indoor silver medalist but current Outdoor and Field World Champion, Lundin (SWE), wants to complete his palmares. Cousins (USA) is another heavy favorite in this category that is once again full of pretenders : Elzinga and Custers (NED), Pagni (ITA), Damsbo (DEN), Hofer (SUI), Boe (NOR), Sitar (SLO), Genet and Brasseur (FRA).   In Compound Women, the major favorite is Goncharova (RUS), winner of the 2006 World Cup and Outdoor World Champion ! She will continue her rivalry with Van Natta (USA). The fans also witness the return of 2005 silver medalist Agudo (ESP) while Willems (BEL), 2003 Indoor World Champion, is still a contender. Other top shots include Soemod (DEN), Fabre (FRA) and Salvi (ITA).   The Juniors categories will be full of young talent with a total of 126 archers.   The Turkish Archery Federation has hosted many succesful Championships in recent years :   - Outdoor World Championship 1993 in Antalya - Indoor World Championship 1997 in Istanbul - Outdoor European Championships 2000 in Antalya - European Indoor World Championship 2001 in Ankara   After Izmir, the archery season will continue outdoor and Stage 1 of the Meteksan Archery World Cup 2007 will take place in Ulsan (KOR) beginning of April.   In the meantime, lets’ keep it Indoor in Izmir !   Didier Miéville FITA Communication