Actualités

Puebla to be treated to rare Fullerton and Schloesser mixed team showdown

10 avril 2026

Puebla, Mexico

Vrai nom:

Mathias Fullerton and Tanja Gellenthien of Denmark with Sanne de Laat and Mike Schloesser of Netherlands at the target.

Mathias Fullerton and Mike Schloesser proved class is permanent outside of individuals as Denmark and Netherlands booked themselves to headline the Olympic-tinged compound mixed team final at Puebla - the first stage of the 2026 Hyundai World Cup.

As top seed in the category following Tuesday's qualification round, Fullerton and Tanja Gellenthien were given a bye in the first round and lived up to that billing by eliminating Croatia, Guatemala and India without any difficulty in matches, never dropping below 156 together.

The Dutch duo of Schloesser and De Laat however were forced to play an extra match and overcome a much sterner path to Saturday's stage as the 10th seed, beating consistent top nations such as Estonia and Colombia before their all-important victory against USA 157-156, who - ironically - now have ex-Denmark compound men archer Stephan Hansen in their ranks.

World number one Schloesser and two time Fullerton have faced off against one another 14 times in five years in all competitions but in mixed team only twice.

“We knew we had it in us,” said Fullerton, who will be hoping to get the better of Schloesser for the fourth time of his career this weekend. “We've just felt like we've been so unlucky every time we shot with each other. We just met the wrong people at the wrong time so it's awesome.”

“I feel like we shot better and better throughout the day today so I'm excited for the final on Saturday. It's just super awesome because there is a bit more pressure now at the [LA28] Olympics and we know we could do it, but we want to show the federation and the people funding us now that we really can do it so this means a lot, just being in the final now.”

Their tit-for-tat dominance in archery's biggest indoor and outdoor competitions - the pair shared the number one spot for a period last year and share six of the past 10 World Cup Finals golds - suggests it will be hard for a lot of the focus not to be on them, but there is also plenty of significance on their respective female partners in the team.

Mathias Fullerton and the Denmark coach watching Tanja Gellenthien shoot.

It is 2025 Indoor World Series champion Gellenthien's first time back in a mixed team gold medal match since her and Fullerton grabbed silver together at the Krakow-Malopolska 2023 European Games and should she be successful on Saturday, it'll end her four year absence from a World Cup top podium - her last being at Medellin 2022.

Although she has been less active the past couple years due to her and husband Braden Gellenthien raising their first child together, a record of 10 major individual outdoor honours - including gold at the Antalya 2021 European Championships - is more than enough to make Denmark the favourites for LA28, now enhanced by the fact they have received vital funding for competitions such as Puebla in preparation.

The same can be said for the Netherlands' Sanne de Laat.

There isn't a World Cup Schloesser hasn't shot in since his senior debut in Antalya 2011 whilst Puebla for De Laat - who is only one year younger than 'Mister Perfect' - is her fifteenth stop on archery's premier international circuit in 10 years due to home commitments - bear in mind that bar Olympic years there are four World Cups annually.

When combined though they are ruthless as last year showed when they ended the season strongly with golds in Madrid - stage four of 2025 - and the Gwangju 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships. Funding for the 2026 season following these results means the European gold medallists will now be shooting side-by-side at the three other stages this year for the maiden time.

“I think weather-wise it was kind of the same,” she responded when asked whether she felt improved from her Tuesday qualification score which too featured swirling winds at Parque del Arte. “It was a lot of wind but when you just have to shoot the arrow, you really have to take your moment with the wind and I think that's what we've been telling each other as well during the shoot.”

“Just take your time, take your moment whenever you're in the middle and keep each other up to date about wind stuff. It's good teamwork that helps us a lot.”

Competition continues tomorrow morning in Puebla with the compound and recurve eliminations.