Athlete of the Week: Elias MALAVE (VEN)

He did so last week, by placing first at the Final Individual Qualification Tournament in Ogden.   Elias MALAVE earned his first international medal in 2008 as team winner of the Panamerican Championships in Valencia, Venezuela, where he also placed 4th individually. He gained international experience by competing on the World Cup circuit since 2010, as well as the World Indoor and Outdoor Championships and several Panamerican events.

The Venezuelan’s goal was to qualify for the Olympic Games. He competed in the Final Qualification Tournament for Beijing in 2008, but didn’t make the cut. He told us about this Olympic dream in this short video interview filmed during the 2011 World Archery Championships in Turin.

Elias MALAVE achieved the best international results of his career in 2012. In March he placed second at the Arizona Cup to the No 1 archer in the world Brady ELLISON (USA). He placed fifth individually at the Pan American Championships in San Salvador and won the bronze medal in the mixed team event. At the Americas Olympic Qualifier in April, he placed 7th individually. It was not enough, which meant he had only one last chance to qualify for London.

Last week, Elias MALAVE was one of 80 men from 35 countries taking part in the Final Individual Qualification Tournament to win one of the 7 spots available for the London Olympic Games. The archer from Venezuela competed all the way to quarterfinals, where he trailed 3-5 after four sets against Mark JAVIER (PHI). In the fifth set MALAVE shot a 28 to JAVIER’s 26 to force a shoot-off. MALAVE won the shoot-off 8-6 to advance to semifinals. The young archer went on to win his semifinal 6-4 against Klemen STRAJHAR, and the final 6-2 against Rafal DOBROWOLSKI (POL). With a first-place finish, Elias MALAVE won an Olympic spot for Venezuela! The country now has to select its representative for London – and MALAVE has all his chances.
     Biography Extract:   Elias MALAVE (VEN) – Born on 26 October 1989   1st Individual Final Olympic Qualification Tournament 2012 9th Individual World Cup Ogden 2012 1st Mixed Team Pan American Championships San Salvador 2012 5th Individual Pan American Championships San Salvador 2012 2nd Individual Arizona Cup Phoenix 2012 3rd Mixed Team Arizona Cup Phoenix 2012 1st Individual Batalla de Carabobo Valenvia 2011 1st Individual Torneo Bicentenario Santiago de Chile 2010 1st Team Pan American Championships Valencia 2008   Find more information on Elias MALAVE (and all other archers) at the World Archery website.   World Archery Communication