Actualités

Baumert, Barbieri take maiden World Games barebow titles on final day of Chengdu 2025

16 août 2025

Chengdu, China

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Simone Barbieri of Italy and Alicia Baumert of France became the new World Games Champions after wins on barebow finals day at Chengdu 2025, closing the archery competition at this edition.

While the merciless temperature and humidity backed off slightly for the last day of competition, the morning brought violent thunderstorms and caused a 90-minute delay to the barebow finals, which were shot on a course, in places, inches deep in water.

As with the recurve finals, the finals day featured a shortened course of just four targets each, giving more chance for variance and little room to recover from any error.

Baumert’s win was as the bigger shock, at the expense of Cinzia Noziglia. While Baumert had beaten the Italian before in the final of the 2023 European Field Championships, Noziglia had won their exhibition match yesterday by a huge 16 points and looked very much like she was heading for a third World Games crown in a row.

In the opening, weather-interrupted semifinal between Baumert and the USA’s Fawn Girard – the first half held in torrential rain – the American could not recover after struggling at the first two targets, and Baumert, still not at her best, had just enough to push through, 43-34.

Noziglia, on the other side of the draw, had too much for Nicky Fairweather in the other semi, opening with a 15 on the first target for a six-point lead. Nicky managed to pull some back on the second, but Cinzia turned on the afterburners and streaked ahead to close it out 51-42.

But when the final came, the tension seemed to have got to Noziglia, who did not look her usual dominant self, while Baumert had clearly relaxed.

The match seemed to hinge on Noziglia’s third arrow of the second end, which the Italian sent high and wide. It set the tone. The pattern continued into the third end, with a poor final arrow from Noziglia keeping Baumert’s two-point lead intact.

Baumert was visibly nervous at closing it out, but finished powerfully, with two sixes in the final end.

“After the first [interrupted] match, I started my process from the beginning. I tried not to cry,” said an emotional Baumert.

“I’m very happy to be in the arena. I just wanted to shoot. I wanted to go all the way, and I did.”

Noziglia, wearing a ribbon in memory of an Italian athlete who passed away earlier in the week, was gracious in defeat.

“I was very stressed by this final, but I’m also proud to win a medal even if it’s not a gold. I shot a bad arrow, so I was not feeling good.”

Girard beat Fairweather for the last spot on the podium with a high-quality display in the bronze medal match, opening with a huge 16 and shooting solidly throughout to close it out 50-42.

The men’s side of the draw looked less certain. While Barbieri had dominated qualifying and eliminations, he was facing the reigning World Archery Field Champion Cesar Vera, the reigning World Games Champion Erik Jonsson and the former World and Olympic Champion Simon Fairweather, who had used his generational experience to fight his way to the very top of the barebow men and challenge for gold.

After Fairweather just edged out Jonsson in the opening match 49-48, Barbieri dominated his semifinal over the 61-year-old Vera, winning 55-47 with a cold, clinical edge to his process.

The final didn’t disappoint, with both men going toe-to-toe on the first two targets and the Italian visibly tense. At the third, Fairweather edged in front with two incredible sixes back to back, and shot strongly at the last 50-metre stand.

With the arrows clear and the clock counting down, it was clear Simone would need a six merely to tie it up. With seconds to go, he delivered perhaps the best six of the entire tournament – dead centre.

It would be a shoot-off at 50 metres to decide the gold. Fairweather shot first, a beatable three. The door was wide open, and Barbieri shot a solid four to take the title, finishing the tournament with two of the highest-pressure arrows in World Games history, both executed perfectly.

“After the six, I thought ‘yes, I can do it’,” said Barbieri of the shoot-off. “I approached it very calmly. Just one more arrow to maintain that positive feeling.”

It marked the Italian’s first major field title, after winning silver at the Mokrice 2024 World Archery 3D Championships.

“It’s the culmination of a lot of work,” said Fairweather of his silver – an extraordinary addition to his medal collection. “Our [his and his wife Nicky’s] expectations were very low. We wanted to do well, but we did not feel it was possible with such a disrupted and poor preparation. We were trying to be realistic.”

“I felt quite elated, especially after getting through the semi, and really I was feeling the best I felt all week in the gold medal match. I felt more relaxed and happy for whatever outcome, and just managed to shoot good arrows. He [Barbieri] deserved it. He shot very well this week.”

“I’ve really enjoyed being part of the barebow community. I really like the way that the athletes from other countries are friends and have good respect for each other. It’s been a really interesting incursion into that group.”

In the bronze medal match, the fire seemed to have gone out for Jonsson. The Swedish champion, visibly flinching, essentially folded his hand to Vera, who shot brilliantly to finish 55-40 with a final end of 16.

The barebow finals concluded the archery competition at the World Games.