Bauer eager to follow up breakout season after promising indoor run

Katharina Bauer became the first German recurve woman to hold the number one spot in the Sanlida World Archery Rankings in February.

With the indoor season now complete, she still tops the list.

“I’m really happy. Of course, I know I have a little bit of an advantage because I was shooting indoors,” she said. “It’s good for me with the new ranking system, but I’m feeling super proud, and I think it will stay in my mind and heart forever.”

The 27-year-old had some promising indoor results, climbing the podium in two of the three international events at which she competed. Katharina took silver at the Sud de France Archery Tournament in Nimes and bronze at The Vegas Shoot. 

She also finished fifth in the Indoor Archery World Series Finals, losing only a tight match to Spain’s Elia Canales.

“Normally, I don’t shoot indoors at all, because we always practice on a 70-meter target,” Bauer said.

With the added value of indoor events to the world ranking, those plans changed for 2023.

“We [also] wanted to check the technique and competition routines in pressure situations. It was great to shoot high-quality matches in Nimes and also at the Indoor World Series Finals,” she said.

“Actually, we just went there to prepare for the next season. It was a good experience, and I also learnt a lot.”

“Shooting indoors, you have to shoot 10s. You aren’t happy with a nine. Outdoors, a nine is okay, but it makes the level of pressure much higher indoors. It was a good test for the outdoor season,” she said.

Bauer’s looking to repeat last year’s impressive run this season.

“The ranking is something from the past. It’s like a cherry on top from the last year, and now I’m just trying to focus on the future and the new things coming up in 2023,” she said.

Qualification for the next Olympics in Paris begins at the Hyundai World Archery Championships in Berlin. Bauer has a chance to secure Germany a quota spot – team or individual – in front of a home crowd.

It would mean the world after missing the Games in Tokyo.

“I want to stay on my level and even go higher. Over the winter season, I saw that I made another step forward. My scores increased, so I will try to work on that and show that during competitions,” she said. “Hopefully, we will have a great season.”

The first stage of the 2023 Hyundai Archery World Cup takes place next month in Antalya. Last year in Turkey, the then-under-the-radar Bauer opened her account with an individual third place. This season, she’s in the spotlight.