Colombia, Denmark still strongest for finals, claim golds

The team compound finals were shot in good weather conditions, with a light breeze coming from the see and for the happiness of athletes.

Men
Martin DAMSBO, Stephan HANSEN and Patrick LAURSEN repeated the success they had during this year's Antalya World Cup, back in June. After edging out the five-time defending-champion United States yesterday, the Danes were superb in their final against South Africa - a country they defeated twice in 2011.

The red-dressed trio from Denmark trailed after the first end - but reversed the lead in the second. With six 10s from their final six arrows - scoring a perfect 60 - they clinched victory, 235-230. HANSEN – at only 18 years old – outscored DAMSBO, this year's World Cup Final winner, and LAURSEN, individual champion at the Antalya World Cup, by shooting nothing but 10s. When asked if it was fair to call him the lynchpin of the Danish team, a nearly-speechless HANSEN laughed: “It’s awesome... I mean, we have a great team. But... yeah... it’s awesome.”

It is Denmark's first World Championships gold medal since 1950 - when the country’s recurve men were champions - and the country's first ever compound gold. With silver, Gabriel BADENHORST, DP BIERMAN and Patrick ROUX (husband of individual bronze finalist Gerda ROUX) won South Africa’s first-ever World Championships team medal in any category.

Champion of the Medellin World Cup, France was favourite to win the bronze medal match in their first encounter with Sweden. An 7 to start for the Swedes allowed Sébastien BRASSEUR, individual finalist Pierre-Julien DELOCHE and World Cup finalist Dominique GENET to take the lead. They never looked back, pounding most arrows into the 10-ring. The victory, 232-225, won them their first World Championships podium in this division after a team with a very different line-up won gold in 1995.

Women
Colombia lived up to all expectations and established themselves as the new world champions, concluding a fantastic 2013 season - and a journey to the final that included a symbolic victory over the defending-champion United States. Aura María BRAVO, world record holder Sara LOPEZ and World Cup Final winner Alejandra USQUIANO shot to their full potential in the final against the Netherlands, who put seven arrows outside of the gold rings. The South American archers clinched the gold medal before their last arrow – final score 229-215 – to win Colombia its first World Archery Championships gold medal in history.

Asked how it feels to win a gold medal after seeing her teammates winning tournaments throughout the season, Aura María BRAVO replied: “I am very, very happy. Finally, I had the opportunity to shoot with them as a team, reach the final, and the result is unbelievable.”

Dutch archers Inge VAN CASPEL, Irina MARKOVIC and Martine COUWENBERG, gave the Netherlands its first World Championships medal in this category since 2001. What makes the achievement so remarkable is that this is only COUWENBERG’s second international event.

The bronze medal match featured an Olympic medallist – Sophie DODEMONT, who won bronze with the French recurve team at Beijing 2008 and is shooting her first international season with a compound bow – and a double Paralympic champion, British archer Danielle BROWN.

Individual silver medallist in 2011, LEBECQUE delivered eight 10s, including the winning arrow, to help France defeat Great Britain 219-217. DODEMONT, LEBECQUE and Sandrine VANDIONANT heralded the country's return to the World Championships podium after a successful series in the early 2000s: gold in 2001, silver in 2003, gold in 2005.

“We won and it is the most important thing. I think we really deserve this medal”, said Pascale LEBECQUE. “We have a fantastic team and we proved it over the season - and even though each of us had hard moments, we supported each other.”

The extreme weather conditions make this victory even sweeter. “It was very hard, especially yesterday, because my shooting style works with a trigger release aid - and in these conditions that was very hard. My teammates supported me throughout the week, they have been wonderful and I am happy to have delivered good work for the team”, concluded the French archer.

World Archery Communication