The Wieners take over Saltillo with Nico first ever Austrian World Cup champion

Nico Wiener's extroverted jubilance was rewarded in Saltillo as he won the compound men 2026 World Cup Final trophy to become Austria's first-ever champion of the event.

Wiener was by far the most eye-catching archer in the morning session at Plaza de Armas as he punched in the air after every 10 and bellowed after every win against Nicolas Girard in the quarterfinals [149-148], Pablo Gomez Zuluaga in the semis [148-147] and then Mathias Fullerton in the gold medal match [148-147].

Most archers would only let their emotions out at the last arrow - which he did emphatically by screaming to the sky and bending down on his knees in disbelief - but the 2025 Indoor World Series Finals champion wanted to live every moment.

“You need to celebrate it because it’s so tough to get to the World Cup Final and I was trying to enjoy every moment because I have some Mexican friends and family are here,” said Wiener, who is also the boyfriend of the compound women world number one Andrea Maya Becerra Arizaga. “Especially my mum in the coach’s box. She’s never done coaching before but she was amazing.”

“It’s more emotional because when someone really close to you like a family member is in the box it feels so much more amazing. They’ve sacrificed a lot for me to be here and I’m so thankful for my family.”

Whilst Bettina may not have been quite as loud as her son, she too was visibly ecstatic right the way through the competition and cried as she watched Nico make Austrian history.

She has been to most competitions her son has entered, including the World Cup stages this year - which Wiener did not win; he booked his ticket to Saltillo through ranking points - as has her husband and Nico's father Wolfgang.

Wolfgang in fact is a former experienced compound archer himself, having competed at multiple World Target, 3D and Field Championships.

He shot as recently as 2023 and also participated in the Antalya 2019 World Cup alongside his son and coached him in the Turkish city this year at stage 3 of the circuit.

Wiener's shouts therefore weren't just for his own joy but a result of all the hard work they have put in as well since he was a junior to get to this point.

“Like when I didn’t have a driving licence, they’d drive me to competitions, buying me more equipment. There’s three of us [children] and we all do sports,” he replied when asked what sacrifices Bettina and Wolfgang had done for him. “I’m thankful for my parents and also my brother, sister, girlfriend and everyone supporting.”

What was more incredible about the 29-year-old at Plaza de Armas was how he was shooting with a wrist brace on his right hand.

He revealed afterwards that it was a minor injury but said he'd recently picked up a pain in the area, no doubt from the insane number of hours of training he does back home in Austria.

So not 100 per cent fully fit, he managed to defeat the current World champion - Girard - the Madrid winner - Gomez Zuluaga - and the ranked number one - Fullerton.

The way he behaved throughout the morning session, though, there wasn't going to be anything stopping Nico Wiener from being the 2026 World Cup compound men champion.

He was on a mission.

The action continues this afternoon in Saltillo with the compound women finals - where Becerra Arizaga is also shooting - which you can watch live with a subscription to archery+.

Final ranking: Compound men

1. Nico Wiener, Austria
2. Mathias Fullerton, Denmark
3. Rodrigo Gonzalez De Alba, Mexico
4. Pablo Gomez Zuluaga, Colombia
5. Nicolas Girard, France
6. Sebastian Garcia Flores, Mexico
7. Mike Schloesser, Netherlands
8. Martin Damsbo, Denmark