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Five to watch at the 2026 Pan Am Games

23 juin 2026

Tlaxcala, Mexico

Vrai nom:

The Tlaxcala 2026 Pan American Championships is imminent and we took a look at the ones to keep an eye on this week; the most interesting challengers of a strong field in Mexico.

All the defending champions in recurve and compound are also returning: Matias Grande, Casey Kaufhold, Sebastian Garcia Flores and Alexis Ruiz. All four are also very much 'ones to watch' and have been on some impressive journeys since last time out in Medellin at the 2024 Pan American Championships.

With the first arrows about to fly in Tlaxcala, here are five standout archers to keep a close eye on.

Ana Paula Vasquez

Who are they? 25-year-old recurve archer from Mexico and Paris 2024 Olympic team bronze medalist.

What’s the story? After overcoming a career-threatening shoulder injury, she has rebuilt her technique and confidence to reach the highest individual world ranking of her career.

Over the past three years, Ana Paula Vazquez has written one of archery’s more remarkable comeback stories. Sidelined for much of 2023 following shoulder surgery that threatened to end her career, the Mexican archer entirely rebuilt her shot from the ground up. She recovered spectacularly, to stand on the podium alongside Alejandra Valencia and Angela Ruiz after they won a recurve women's team bronze medal for Mexico – one of World Archery's five outstanding performances from that Games.

The journey after Paris has tested her resilience, as she briefly missed out on the Mexican national team selection in 2025 amid lingering doubts about her form. However, Vazquez roared back onto the international circuit in 2026, and in Antalya claimed her first ever individual medal on the Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit, pushing her to a career-high world ranking.

What’s the goal? Top of the shop: capitalising on her peak form to capture a continental title in Tlaxcala.

Vital statistics:

Age: 25
World ranking: 6
Best result: Olympic bronze in Paris
Instagram: @anapau_vazquez

Marcus D'Almeida

Who are they? Recurve archer from Brazil, world number one, three-time Olympian, and his country’s most decorated archer.

What’s the story? A former champion at this event, it's exactly the sort of venue he thrives in.

After so many 'nearly' years, in 2023 Marcus finally delivered a historic campaign; spending 11 months as the world number one, taking individual bronze at the Berlin 2023 Hyundai World Archery Championships, and concluding the season by lifting the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final trophy in Hermosillo, Mexico. This run earned him the title of World Archery's best athlete of the year and set the stage for his third career Olympic appearance in Paris.

2025 saw him win the South American Championships as well as take an individual gold in Antalya with a dominant 6-0 shutout. Now 28 years old and working an increasingly calm and clinical execution, he enters the 2026 Pan American Championships in Tlaxcala as the favourite – although Matias Grande might have something to say about that.

Armed with over a decade of international experience, he has become a very different proposition in the recurve men’s field.

What’s the goal? To assert his dominance as the Americas' top recurve archer.... surely.

Vital statistics:

Age: 28
World ranking: 1
Best result: Former Pan Am champion, among much else.
Instagram: @marcusdalmeida

Alejandra Usquiano

Who are they? 33-year-old compound archer from Colombia and 2025 World Archery Championship individual bronze medalist.

What’s the story? A blossoming late career for the Colombian sees her right at the top of the game.

Usquiano has firmly re-established herself as a premier force in the compound women’s field over the last three years. The veteran put together a blazing 2025 campaign with individual gold on home turf at the Medellin 2025 South American Open Championships before narrowly missing the podium with a hard-fought fourth-place finish at the Chengdu 2025 World Games. However, she bounced right back in September with an individual bronze medal in Gwangju.

Her momentum has gathered into 2026, claiming back-to-back gold medals on the Indoor World Series circuit with victories at Rio Indoor 250 and at the Nimes Archery Tournament. Back outdoors, the 33-year-old demonstrated her chops at the World Cup season opener in Puebla, battling brutal winds to secure top seed qualification – the first in her career.

What’s the goal? Alejandra is riding a wave of career-best form, but will face tough opposition for the women's title from Andrea Becerra and Alexis Ruiz.

Vital statistics:

Age: 33
World ranking: 4
Best result: 2013 World Cup Final Champion, among many more
Instagram: @alejau12

Catalina Gnoriega

Who are they? 23-year-old recurve archer from the USA; Olympian, and Pan American Games team gold medalist.

What’s the story? Gnoriega apparently started her archery career using rubber bands and PVC pipes because her local club lacked beginner bows. She was the alternate at Tokyo 2020 before finally fulfilling the Olympic dream in Paris, alongside Casey Kaufhold and Jennifer Mucino.

Her recent story starts with something of a breakout 2025 season where she was part of the USA team that claimed World Cup recurve gold for the first time in a decade. Indeed, Gnoriega’s big International successes have come as a team player, including the Pan American Games and the Pan American Championships.

But in 2025 she started registering top ten individual World Cup performances, won two national tournaments, and entered 2026 with a silver in Vegas. Can she finally start hitting the outdoor podiums internationally? Maybe she can.

What’s the goal? To add another continental medal to her resume while building momentum toward the home Olympics in 2028.

Vital statistics:

Age: 23
World ranking: 16
Best result: World Cup and Pan Am team gold medallist.
Instagram: @catalina.gn

Sofia Paiz

Who are they? Compound archer representing El Salvador and the Gwangju individual silver medalist.

What’s the story? Originally from Guatemala, Paiz began representing El Salvador in 2022 and has since reached new heights on the international stage.

Her biggest achievement came during at the Hyundai World Archery Championships in Gwangju, where she battled her way to the individual compound final, falling to Andrea Becerra in torrential rain. But her silver medal finish marked a monumental milestone for both her career and her nation.

She has serious recent form in this company too; the outing at the San Salvador 2026 Grand Prix of the Americas saw her take individual bronze and two team gold medals, and the El Salvadorian teams are likely to be back in the mix again.

What’s the goal? A podium finish would make another major statement and build on her worlds success.