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World No. 1 Mathias Fullerton hits perfect 600 to claim top seed at Swiss Open

31 octobre 2026

Lausanne, Switzerland

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A perfect 600 from world No. 1 Mathias Fullerton headlined the opening day of the Swiss Open Lausanne 2026, as the Dane topped compound men’s qualification to make an emphatic start to the indoor season.

It was also his second-ever 600 at an indoor event, although Fullerton admitted that such a performance had seemed unlikely just days before arriving in Lausanne.

“Was I expecting it? Honestly, if you told me a week ago or 10 days, or even three days ago, I would've said no. I kind of struggled quite a bit in practice,” the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final silver medallist said.

The Dane revealed that he had struggled to find his rhythm while setting up his equipment but found something that worked in the final days before the competition.

“Just like the last one or two days before coming here, I just found something really good and I'm happy. I know I am kind of back to where I feel like I was at the end of indoor season last year,” he said.

For Fullerton, the focus this indoor season is less about chasing individual results and more about maintaining consistency.

“Indoors is a game of perfection, and I’m trying to make it less about results, and more about seeing how few points I can drop over the season,” he added.

Three archers finished just one point behind Fullerton on 599, with their positions decided by centre tens. USA’s Braden Gellenthien took second, followed by India’s Abhishek Verma in third and the Netherlands’ Mike Schloesser in fourth.

The world No. 2 Dutchman had arrived in Lausanne from India, where he helped the Mighty Marathas win the Archery Premier League, but a delayed bow case left him with only three or four days of indoor practice.

“I feel like the start was really rough, a bit insecure, but I got a lot of confidence during the round. At the end I was shooting really good, and the groups were also pretty good,” Schloesser said.

There was another notable performance from the Schloesser family, with Gaby Schloesser finishing at the top of the recurve women's qualification with 586.

Her personal best indoors remains 591, but she was pleased with the result, particularly given the limited time she has had to train while balancing the demands of parenthood. Her daughter, Luna, was also with the family in Lausanne.

“My very best indoor is 591. It's like five points under it, but I'm super happy with the score today. Life has changed a little, and all that stuff, and I have very minimum time to train, which is nerve-wracking sometimes,” she said.

“Like, I feel like I have the capacity and I can do it, but at the same time, I don't want to say I doubt myself a little, but I doubt myself a little just because I feel like I don't have the same amount of arrows behind the bow.”

Mexico’s Ana Paula Vazquez Flores finished second with 584, while defending champion and world No. 1 Marie Horackova of Czechia endured a frustrating end to qualification after an equipment failure disrupted her second round.

Horackova, who recently won gold at the Saltillo 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final had made a strong start, scoring 296 in the first half and leading the field. However, her sight broke towards the end of qualification, causing two outright misses and leaving her finishing in 15th place.

Italy's Elisa Roner, last year's silver medallist in Lausanne, topped the compound women's qualification with 597. Mexico's world No. 2, Andrea Maya Becerra Arizaga, followed closely with 596, while India's Jyothi Surekha Vennam finished third with 592.

Roner revealed that she had made several technical adjustments during the summer, changing her front hand, front arm, front shoulder and anchor position.

“My best indoor score is 598 from last year. But I'm happy, it's a good start of the season,” she said.

Despite leading the qualification, the Italian was keen to keep her focus on the competition ahead rather than attach too much importance to the score.

“I think I just did my job. And the competition has to continue, and qualification is just the start. So, I will wait for the matches,” she added.

The Swiss Open Lausanne introduced barebow competition for the first time this year, adding another category to the event's indoor programme.

Italy's Simone Barbieri topped the men's qualification with 559, finishing 24 points ahead of France's Florian Thiriot, who took the second seed with 535.

Barbieri was pleased with his start to the indoor season, saying he was beginning to rediscover the form he had shown previously.

“Certain feelings I had last year are coming back, so I'm trying to keep going like this for the entire indoor season,” he said.

With qualification complete, attention now turns to the elimination rounds and the race for medals in Lausanne.