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Impressive Spain defeats USA and Korea en-route to mixed team recurve final at Madrid

10 juillet 2026

Madrid, Spain

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Andres Temino Mediel and Elia Canales smiling at the target together at Madrid 2026.

Elia Canales and Andres Temiño Mediel rewarded the fantastic home support at Madrid 2026 - stage four of the Hyundai Archery World Cup - by producing a brilliant run to reach the recurve mixed team gold medal match.

Buoyed by raucous support throughout the evening session - which sounded like the whole of the surrounding Chamberí district had turned up in the stands of Vallehermoso Stadium - Canales and Temiño Mediel thrashed Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallists Casey Kaufhold and Brady Ellison 5-1 before edging the world's top-ranked side Korea [Kim Woojin] and [Oh Yejin], 5-3, and then defeating Italy's Matteo Borsani and Roberta Di Francesco also 5-3 in the semifinals.

The duo are, of course, the reigning World Championship gold medallists, but on the World Cup circuit they have only one previous gold medal match appearance to show for it, having lost to Korea in Shanghai in 2024.

What a time to make amends for that defeat on home soil. If Thursday's scenes at the end of the match are anything to go by, with both serenaded by their parents and teammates from the compound and recurve squads alike, Sunday's contest against China could be very special.

“It’s been really noisy,” laughed a very smiley Canales after making her way through a round of hugs from the entire Spanish contingent. “I really enjoyed the day, actually, so I didn’t feel much pressure to be at home. I was more focused on the joy of being here with my family. My parents are here, and my friends are here too, so I’m really, really happy about this.”

“We shot really well in all three matches, and I think we’re at the same level as everyone here. To be fair, the mixed teams are really close, as always. Sometimes it’s just luck that determines whether you win.”

“It was a little bit tricky because sometimes you couldn’t feel the wind even though it was blowing, and other times you thought it was blowing when it wasn’t. It was just a matter of dealing with the wind.”

“You can’t focus on what the wind is doing because then you’re not focusing on yourself, so we were like, ‘Okay, we’re going to aim off wherever we think is more or less right, and we’ll just go with it.’”

Andres Temino Mediel pumping his biceps after winning the recurve mixed team semifinal whilst Elia Canales hugs her coach at Madrid 2026.

Canales and Temiño Mediel's silver in Shanghai 2024 and bronze in Yecheon 2024 proved they were no slouches, but no one could have expected them to topple Korea in their own backyard last September. In fact, they weren't among the main favourites for the event for some.

Yet they did it, securing Spain's first-ever World Archery Championships gold medal. Temiño Mediel then carried that form into the individual competition, later claiming the recurve men's individual world title.

What today proved, however, is that Gwangju was no fluke - far from it.

Paris alone showed that Ellison and Kaufhold can turn the switch on when it comes to the biggest tournaments, having won eight medals across various World Cups, Pan American Championships and the Pan American Games over the last seven years.

Canales and Temiño Mediel have been shooting together internationally for not even half that time, so to send them packing 5-1, shortly followed by beating Korea in the last end of the quarterfinals 39-38 - just one arrow shy of a perfect set - is nothing short of impressive.

Gwangju will always stay in the hearts of the duo and the entirety of Spanish archery, but given how short-lived their campaign at Madrid 2025 was - exiting in the first round to Korea - a gold medal in the capital on Sunday would show that the sport in the country is well and truly on the rise.

That loss from last year still pains the recently crowned European Outdoor bronze medallists.

“What I remember from last year is that we shot quite well, but we lost by a very small margin. I think it was in the fourth set.”

“It annoyed me because, in the end, experiencing a final at home was something very special, but we didn't manage it. This year we did,” said Temiño Mediel who shot six of his eight arrows against Italy in the 10-ring.

More medal opportunities will be up for grabs for his teammate Canales in the individual eliminations tomorrow who shoots in the 1/16 round in the morning. Temiño Mediel was knocked out in the 1/24 round.