Four countries will fight for the senior team gold medals

Each team is made of three archers per country, one in each discipline (recurve, compound and barebow). The quarterfinals were shot on 8 targets and the semifinals on 4 targets.
 Senior Men In quarterfinals, the USA posted the highest score of the entire round to defeat the Netherlands, 117-105. France, with the two-time world team silver medallist in recurve target Jean-Charles VALLADONT, faced tough competition from Sweden. The host team trailed in the beginning but came back with a superb third target at 17. Both teams totalled 112 points after the 8 targets. France was superior in the shoot-off, winning 15-13. In the other matches, Finland defeated Germany by just one point, 106-105, and Italy outscored Slovenia 108-105.   The USA, ranked No. 1, were the favourites to win their semifinal against France. All three American archers Jake KAMINSKI, Dave COUSINS and Alan EAGLETON have qualified to shoot for individual gold or bronze tomorrow in their respective category. To note, COUSINS kept his place as the leader of the American team despite the strong performances of Jesse BROADWATER this week. Shooting on four targets, the Americans trailed 11-13 after one target but were dominant in the second and third stages (17-16, 14-11). After a tied fourth target (13-13), the USA qualified for the gold medal match, 55-53. They will face Finland, who upset Italy 54-48. Italy could have fought for a place in the gold medal final if not for a bad second target at only 8 points.   Senior Women Italy, ranked No. 1 in qualifications, could count on Jessica TOMASI, 2004 and 2008 world champion in recurve, and Eleonora STROBBE, 2010 world champion and 2009 World Games winner in barebow. The match was close: Italy took an early lead but the USA came back, and the scores were tied before the last target. The Americans, led by Paige PEARCE, the 2009 cadet world target champion, who at 17 could compete with the juniors, gained a 3-point advantage in the final target, 15-12, toupset Italy 98-95. Great Britain scored the same total as the USA to defeat Sweden, who had inconsistent scores ranging from 5 to 17 points per target. In a very tight quarterfinal, Germany and Austria started with a bad performance on the first target (8-9) but displayed excellent shooting afterwards to end up in a tie (103-103). Germany won the shoot-off 14-9. Finally, in their match against Japan, the French ladies gained a 5-point advantage after one target (15-10) and kept their lead through the end. The local team made of Sophie DODEMONT, 2008 Olympic bronze medallist and 2006 field silver medallist, and Sandrine VANDIONANT, multiple medallist on the World Cup circuit, and Eliette LALOUER, posted the highest score of this round at 104 points.   Great Britain, ranked 5th, faced the United States, 8th, in the first semifinal. The USA suffered from a bad first target (11-14) and went on to lose the match 51-52. The French team easily defeated Germany 51-43 and will face the British archers this afternoon for the gold medal.   Junior Men The team eliminations started with semifinals in this category. Germany, who has the best barebow archer Henrik HORNUNG, shot in the 12-14 range to defeat Slovenia 52-49. The semifinal between Italy and Great Britain was tighter. Italy had the leader from recurve qualifications Marco MORELLO, while Great Britain could count on the compound leader Alex BRIDGMAN. The Britons scored a bad second target (8 points) but recovered to win the match 44-43.   Junior Women Three teams are competing in this category. USA faced Great Britain for the right of shooting the gold medal final against the No. 1 from qualification Italy. Both teams tied at 10 points for the first target, but the British girls went on to dominate the three remaining target. Victory 46-37 for Great Britain, and bronze medal for Heather TRAFFORD and the FISCHER sister Emily and Kathryn FISCHER of the USA!   World Archery Communication