Reportages

Five to watch at the 2026 European Outdoor Championships

16 mai 2026

Antalya, Türkiye

Vrai nom:

As Europe’s elite converge on the sunny shores of Antalya for the European Outdoor Championships 2026, the tension is building and the weight of history is telling.

Most of the greatest European world and Olympic medallists have won this tournament as well, and with the LA28 Olympic Games now just two years away, both recurve and compound archers are starting to see it on the horizon.

There will always be experienced veterans in the pack, but we're looking more at the fearless younger talent looking to make their mark, and the field is packed with captivating storylines. As the first arrows prepare to fly next week, here are the five standout archers you shoudn't take your eyes off.

Fenna Stallen

Who are they? 15-year-old compound archer from the Netherlands.

What’s the story? Stallen has been dominating the U21 indoor circuit over the past year, taking four gold and one silver medal at the Indoor World Series, and taking a new U21 European record with a 590 qualification in Lausanne.

She also set a Dutch U18 national record with a 706 in July last year, but her big outdoor breakthrough came last year when she won individual bronze at the Winnipeg 2025 World Archery Youth Championships, against a huge field from all over the world.

This is her first major senior European event. Stallen has made no secret of her ambition to get to LA, likely as the compound mixed team partner of Mike Schloesser. Is this the first serious rung on that ladder.

What’s the goal? A podium place would be a big statement.

Vital statistics:

Age: 15
World ranking: 250
Best result: Bronze at the World Youth Championships.
Instagram: @fenna.stallen.archer

Ajay Scott

Who are they? GBR's top compounder has been tearing it up indoors and out

What’s the story? Still only 22, Scott comes into outdoor season off the back of making the final at the Vegas Shoot by shooting a 900 – the first British man to do so since Liam Grimwood back in 2011. He also won in Lausanne and was second in Rio. Outdoors he has yet to make a huge statement but did manage a silver at last year’s Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games,

Scott and Ella Gibson won the mixed team compound title at the Shanghai 2025 Hyundai Archery World Cup stage 2, the first time Great Britain had taken a mixed team stage title for six years and an upgrade on the silver the pair achieved the previous year in Antalya. It seems likely at the moment that Gibson and Scott will be the pairing to try for LA. Can they make it happen again?

What’s the goal? Make a big outdoor splash.

Vital statistics:

Age: 22
World ranking: 9
Best result: Silver at the World University Games.
Instagram: @ajayscott_

Berkay Akkoyun

Who are they? A key part of the new wave of Turkish recurve talent.

What’s the story? It's not been made much of a fuss of, but Türkiye topped the medal table in Shanghai last month, with China in second place and Korea in a shocking third. Much of this was down to the men’s recurve team of Berkay Akkoyun, Berkim Tumer and the more familiar name of Mete Gazoz – all three of which would be candidates for the 'ones to watch list' here.

As a team, they're almost certainly favourites for gold, but individually, all also have a shot. We're singling out Akkoyun after his performance here on home turf in the European Grand Prix Spring Arrows. The Lilleshall 2022 European youth champion posted an international best of 681, six points more than teammate Gazoz. He seems to thrive at home, winning in Samsun last year and the 2024 Conquest Cup, as well as multiple team medals at home and abroad.

Is this his time? Maybe.

What’s the goal? A team medal seems inevitable, but he will want to show he can makes move individually like his teammates.

Vital statistics:

Age: 21
World ranking: 39
Best result: European Youth Champion in 2022, runner up in 2024
Instagram: @berkayakkoyunn

Elia Canales

Who are they? One of Europe’s best recurve women.

What’s the story? Twice a runner up in major European competitions – she took took the silver medal at both the Essen 2024 European Archery Championships and the Krakow-Malopolska 2023 European Games – Canales will be itching to go one better here.

Like others here she has also had a successful indoor season, winning the individual titles in Nimes and Luxembourg. But perhaps her biggest scalp of all was taking the mixed team world championship gold off Korea in Gwangju last year with Andres Temiño Mediel, capping a swathe of international team podium.

She's not the only youthful talent Spain has to offer, Paula Álvarez González is only 18 and was part of the Spanish gold medal team at the European Youth Outdoor Championships 2024. Spain’s recurve women are definitely in with a shout at a medal here in Antalya.

What’s the goal? The women’s individual title. Silver will not do.

Vital statistics:

Age: 24
World ranking: 23
Best individual result: Silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games
Instagram: @eliacanales01

Nicolas Girard

Who are they? Reigning world champion and world number two

What’s the story? Girard's victory in Gwangju was anything but a forgone conclusion, and with both Mike Schloesser and Mathias Fullerton in form and on point, it's almost anybody’s guess who will take the compound men’s title.

But Girard comes in off the back of a strong second place showing in Shanghai, some good indoor results, and a clear hunger to prove himself up there with his two major peers.

It's been quite the journey for the man who became only the second French compounder to take a world title after Sebastien Peineau – and after an indifferent couple of years, too. While Girard tends to play his cards close to his chest, he also know a title here would make a big statement.

What’s the goal? It can't be anything less than gold.