Athlete of the Week: Jean-Charles VALLADONT (FRA)

Recurve Men Individual Final: VALLADONT v KAMINSKI   
  Jean-Charles VALLADONT became the first French field world champion in recurve men last week. He was also the first French to be crowned world champion in the history of the famous skiing resort of Val d’Isere.   It was also the first international title for Jean-Charles VALLADONT, who appeared on the archery scene in 2008 with team silver at the European Championships and a participation in the Beijing Olympic Games. Over the course of his career, the French archer placed multiple times on the World Cup podium with his team, and won several world championships medals, but he had not yet reached the gold: he won the individual bronze medal at the Indoor World Championships in 2009, and he won back-to-back team silver medals at the World Archery Championships in Ulsan 2009 and Turin 2011.   In Val d’Isere, the 23-year-old archer shot solidly in the qualifications and the elimination rounds. He shot for the gold medal against the Olympic team silver medallist from the USA Jake KAMINSKI. The French took the lead on the first target and never looked back: 16-14, 30-27, 45-42, and finally 58-56 to win the match, to the delight of spectators.      KAMINSKI, VALLADONT and Jon SHALES (GBR)It was a great victory for Jean-Charles VALLADONT, who shed tears on the podium while listening to the French national anthem.   Biography Extract:  Jean-Charles VALLDONT (FRA) – Born 20 March 1989  1st Individual World Field Championships Val d’Isere 2012 3rd Team World Field Championships Val d'Isere 2012 9th Individual London Classic – Olympic Test Event 2011 3rd Team World Cup Shanghai 2011 1st Team World Cup Antalya 2011 2nd Team World Championships Ulsan 2009 2nd Team World Cup Shanghai 2009 3rd Individual World Cup Porec 2009 3rd Individual World Indoor Championships Rzeszow 2009 43rd Individual Olympic Games Beijing 2008 2nd Team European Championships Vittel 2008   More results information on Jean-Charles VALLADONT and on all other archers at the World Archery website.   World Archery Communication