Best in Antalya? Türkiye shines and Netherlands glows at European Championships

No-one could say it was unfamiliar territory.

The European Outdoor Championships were the second of three major tournaments held almost back-to-back in Antalya this year, following the European Grand Prix Spring Arrows in April and ahead of the third stage of the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup in June.

First held in 1968 and traditionally staged every two years, the Europeans have long served as a proving ground for Games ambition. Many Olympic medallists have also stood atop the European podium.

This time around there was the added pressure of securing quota places for the Istanbul 2027 European Games, with the next opportunity not arriving until March 2027.

We take a look at three performances in Antalya that impressed us most.

3. Elif Gokkir

Elif Gokkir was the headline name in our feature in May about the new wave of Turkish talent pushing ever further, and the 19-year-old delivered on home field.

After qualifying third, she went on to win individual bronze and recurve mixed team gold alongside Mete Gazoz. She was also part of the young Turkish women’s team that reached the bronze medal match.

The individual bronze was hard won. Gokkir narrowly missed out on the final against Spain‘s Elia Canales before defeating Elisabeth Straka of Austria in a windy shoot-off.

The mixed team title, however, never really looked in doubt and was one of the strongest performances of the week.

Gokkir spearheads the Turkish wave – and crucially from the recurve side. Is it possible that head coach Yusuf Goktug Ergin could do with the women‘s team what he achieved with the men at the last two Olympic Games?

2. Hazal Burun

The 21-year-old Hazal Burun became the first Turkish woman to win the European compound title, and said afterwards: “I set it as my goal, worked towards it and achieved it.” It felt like a statement from someone much more experienced.

Making her youth international debut in 2021 aged just 16, Burun has already taken a very long list of medals at youth and senior level, but was waiting for a first big outdoor international title after winning three times at the Spring Arrows tournament. 

Three other Turkish women have won European titles – Gulnaz Coskun, Yasemin Anagoz and Natalia Nazaridze, who won three times and is now a coach with the national team. But all of those titles came in recurve. Burun is the first Turkish woman to win the compound crown.

Paired with Emircan Haney, the potential for LA28 is obvious. The question now is whether she can reproduce this success away from home.

1. Sanne De Laat

The Dutch international Sanne De Laat is now a decade into her international career, but she shot exceptionally in Antalya, winning compound women’s team and compound mixed team gold – the only athlete to leave the championships with two gold medals.

The 31-year-old delivered under pressure in both finals, anchoring the Dutch teams just as she did when partnering Mike Schloesser to mixed team gold at the Hyundai World Archery Championships in Gwangju last year.

She also lent her spare bow to Tanja Gellenthien for much of the week following an airline mishap, another example of the camaraderie that often exists within the archery community.

The Netherlands enjoyed an outstanding championships overall. Willem Bakker finally secured his first major outdoor target title after years of near misses, while Schloesser narrowly missed another final after losing a shoot-off to Przemyslaw Konecki before responding with a perfect 150 in the bronze medal match.

We could also mention one of our Ones to Watch, Fenna Stallen, who collected team gold at her first major senior championship at just 15 years old.

It was a strong week for the Dutch team, but none shone brighter than De Laat.