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There are some really well-known archers from the Americas. The entire USA squad – which includes Brady ELLISON, Erika JONES and Reo WILDE at this event – and Canadian archers like Belek 2013 world championships bronze medallist Crispin DUENAS, for example.
But, at the Medellin Archery World Cup stage, there are a bunch of nations competing that we see very, very rarely. Cuba, Peru, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay are represented, and Guatemala have a squad of 16 in attendance.
Fifteen-year-old Diana MARTINEZ we’ve never seen before, but Regina ROMERO we definitely have… the forever-smiling young lady made the youth world championship finals at Wuxi 2013 before winning the Central American and Caribbean Games earlier this year.
“I won two medals – a silver and a bronze – at the 2013 Bolivarian Games in Peru. It was the beginning of so many good things for me,” said ROMERO. “I haven’t stopped training since!”
Her next goal is at the Central American Games: “Of course, I dream of becoming a World Cup Champion. But first, I’ll focus on getting a top 10 at Veracruz.”
“I’m extremely excited for this year’s tournaments. After Veracruz, it’s the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, where I hope to medal.”
First, ROMERO will use Medellin for valuable competition experience against senior opponents she’s yearning for the chance to get better against. Her favourite word, she said, is “dedication”… and it shows.
Ecuador’s Diego CRESPO is another young archer to watch. He is the first compound archer from his nation to compete on the world stage and the youngest athlete at Medellin 2014.
“It’s really hard to be an archer in Ecuador,” said CRESPO. “But this is what I would like to do for the rest of my life.”
“I don’t have enough money to travel around the world to compete but with the government’s support and by achieving good results, it might be possible.” He’s not shy about facing such tough competition at this second stage of the 2014 World Cup, and said he wants to rank among the highest scoring in the tournament.
Ecuador’s coach has only good things to say about Diego: “He’s an inspiration for us. He’s so passionate and dedicated to archery that we’re confident in his future as an athlete.”
Some members of the Mexican team ensured their future by picking up medals at the last Olympics, but in Medellin – regular names Luis ALVAREZ and Linda OCHOA are missing.
“Only the archers who did well at selections came to Medellin,” said Mariana AVITIA. When asked if the team missed those veteran members, she replied: “We are confident in our work and we respect this process set by our federation.”
“We didn’t do well in Shanghai so Medellin will be our revenge.” The Mexican recurve women’s team went out in the first round at Shanghai. “There are strong teams but will try our best. Archery is all about competing with yourself.”
The 143 Americas athletes make up over half of everyone shooting at Medellin 2014. Does that mean they’ll pick up half of the medals?
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