14 January 2010 - Tournament of Nimes Preview

Over 1000 Archers Will Meet in Nimes Nîmes/Lausanne - 14 January 2010   1270 archers from 29 nations and 4 continents will take part in the Tournament of Nimes, to be held from 22-24 January. Several famous champions of the past and present will participate in this 13th edition. The 13th edition of the Tournament of Nimes promises to be an exceptional event! This tournament, which is part of the Indoor World Archery Challenge along with the Tournament of Las Vegas, will feature some of the best archers in the world. The number of participants is higher than ever. Among them several Olympic, World and European Champions, as well as current leaders of the World Ranking, will compete! Here are our predictions on the favourites to win this 2010 edition, based on the results from the recent major international competitions. Recurve Men There will be a fight between generations in this division! The three individual medallists from Barcelona 1992 will be reunited in Nimes. The 1992 Olympic champion Sébastien FLUTE is attempting a come-back at the highest level of competition, with the hope of a London 2012 qualification. FLUTE, who was once Indoor World Champion, had a great season in 2009 and could be among the top-ranked archers here. The 1992 Olympic runner-up CHUNG Jae Hun (KOR) came out of retirement to become the Indoor World Champion in 1997 and Outdoor World Champion in 2005. CHUNG will be hoping to win a third title at the Tournament of Nimes this year. Great Britain's Simon TERRY, the bronze medallist from Barcelona, came out of retirement in 2007 after a long break from international competition. He is back at the top-level, having earned the 2nd place at the 2009 World Cup Final., Currently ranked No 7 in the world, TERRY probably hopes to trade his 2nd place from last year to 1st place in 2010! 2004 Olympic champion Marco GALIAZZO (photo) from Italy will make the link between the old and the new generation. He won the 2008 edition of the Tournament of Nimes as well as the European title. He won the last World Cup Final and will be a very serious contender here! These archers will face the members of the new generation. The Frenchmen who won the team silver at last year's Outdoor World Championships, Romain GIROUILLE, Jean-Charles VALLADONT and Thomas AUBERT, are all under 23 years old. Jean-Charles VALLADONT will try to defend his title from last year. The young Brady ELLISON (USA), winner of the Tournament of Las Vegas in 2009, will also be shooting for the first place in Nimes. Recurve Women French archer Bérengère SCHUH will be the favourite in this division. She broke the indoor world record last year, won bronze at the World Indoor Championships and is ranked No 4 (best European) in the world. As a former World Indoor Champion in 2003 and silver medallist in 2007, European Outdoor and Indoor Champion, World Cup finalist in 2009 and 2008 Olympic team bronze medallist, Bérengère has an impressive medal collection that makes her a top favourite for this competition. No 11 seeded Naomi FOLKARD (GBR) was defeated twice by Bérengère SCHUH in a European Championships Final and will want to take revenge here! Italy's Pia Carmen LIONETTI (seeded No 8), who won bronze at the 2008 Outdoor European Championships behind SCHUH and FOLKARD, will try to improve from last year, when she had placed second. These three ladies will be challenged by another Italian ranked in the world's top 20, Elena TONETTA, second in Nimes in 2006. Germany will be represented by Lisa UNRUH, who won here in 2005 and 2007. The 4th ranked from last year Céline BEZAULT (FRA) will hope to climb the podium this time. Compound Men This category will feature the best archers in the world! The American men will try to shoot better than Italy's Sergio PAGNI – current leader of the World Ranking, winner of the 2009 World Cup Final, current European Indoor Champion and two-time winner in Nimes. The 2009 World Cup runner-up and 2nd of the World Ranking Braden GELLENTHIEN (USA) will compete for the first time in this tournament. Another favourite for the victory is American Jesse BROADWATER, who won silver at the 2009 World Indoor Championship and was the winner in Las Vegas in 2006 and runner-up in 2002 and 2003. Dave COUSINS (USA), winner of 9 medals at the world championships level (3 golds), has never won in Nimes. 2010 might be his year? Among the outsiders, lets mentions former winners of the tournament Patrizio HOFER (ranked No 4 in the world), Sweden's Morgan LUNDIN (former individual Indoor, Outdoor and Field World Champion). Last year's finalist Martin DAMSBO (DEN), as well as the new outdoor world record holder and fomer European Indoor Champion Peter ELZINGA (NED) could make it to the podium. Finally, the Frenchmen Pierre Julien DELOCHE (the defending champion) and Dominique GENET (World Indoor bronze medallist in 2007 and 2009) will hope to shine in their home country. Compound Women On the women's side, the Russians are the big favourites! All three members of the team that won gold at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships will travel to Nimes. Individual World Champion Albina LOGINOVA will be the one to watch. Another Russian, Sofia GONCHAROVA, the 2005 World Champion and 2006 World Cup winner, could medal in this category. Former European Indoor Champion, runner-up of the 2009 World Cup Final and current leader of the World Ranking Camilla SOEMOD (DEN) will compete in Nimes for the first time. Young Italian Laura LONGO, who won gold at the 2008 European Indoor Championships and silver at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships, is also among the favourites. Nicky HUNT might have a chance, having won bronze at the 2008 European Indoor Championships and a World Cup stage in 2009. Former World Champions Gladys WILLEMS (BEL) and Eugenia SALVI (ITA) will also compete. The host country will be represented in this category by Valérie FABRE, Pascale LEBECQUE and Sandrine VANDIONANT GRANGILLI. Archers from the following countries have registered: Africa: Algeria, Morocco America: Canada, USA Asia: Korea, Japan Europe: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lituania, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Nederlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden.    Olivier GRILLAT, organiser of the Tournament of Nimes Edited by FITA Communication