30 August 2011 - Athlete of the Week: Kendal NICELY (USA)

Athlete of the Week: Kendal NICELY (USA) Lausanne – 30 August 2011   The 20-year old American Kendal NICELY, who began her archery career at the age of 3, won her second individual world title in the compound junior women's category last week. In the gold final in Legnica, Poland, she also beat the world record for the 15-arrow match with 148 points.   After winning three junior world titles (individual 2008, team 2008 and 2009), NICELY added two other medals on the occasion of the 2011 World Archery Youth Championships: individual gold and mixed team's silver (paired with fellow countryman Garrett ABERNETHY).   The young American also competed in the cadet competition at the 2006 World Archery Youth Championships in Mexico. There, she won the team gold medal and ranked 4th in the individual event, losing in semifinal to the Italian Anastasia ANASTASIO, who then went on winning the title.   In Poland last week, shooting for the compound junior women’s gold medal, NICELY was evenly matched with her opponent, Inge VAN CASPEL (NED). Both archers had previously taken youth championships titles, and both are already solid competitors on the senior circuit. The American finished 3rd in the team event at the World Archery Championships 2007 in Leipzig and 2009 in Ulsan. Recently, she took part in the Shenzhen Universiade where she clinched silver in individual and mixed team.   NICELY started the 2011 junior gold medal match with a perfect 30 and followed with a 29 to take a 2-point advantage after the second end. With another 10-10-10, NICELY secured a solid lead, and appeared to be chasing the world record match score of 147. She led 118-113 after 12 arrows and therefore needed to be perfect in her last end. She started with a 10, then another one just 'on the line'. She was a bit shaky with the release on her last arrow, but she caught a last 10 to clinch gold and a new world record with 148.   Biography Extract:   Kendal NICELY (USA) – Born 16 February 1991   1st Individual Junior World Archery Youth Championships Legnica 2011 2nd Mixed Team Junior World Archery Youth Championships Legnica 2011 4th Team Junior World Archery Youth Championships Legnica 2011 2nd Individual Summer Universiade Shenzhen 2011 2nd Mixed Team Summer Universiade Shenzhen 2011 3rd Team World Archery Championships Ulsan 2009 4th Individual World Archery Youth Championships Ogden 2009 1st Team Junior World Archery Youth Championships Ogden 2009 1st Individual Junior World Archery Youth Championships Kundu-Antalya 2008 1st Team Junior World Archery Youth Championships Kundu-Antalya 2008 3rd Team World Archery Championships Leipzig 2007 4th Individual Cadet World Archery Youth Championships Merida 2006 1st Team Cadet World Archery Youth Championships Merida 2006   Find more information on Kendal NICELY (and all other archers) at the World Archery website as well as on her Facebook page.   World Archery Communication