Netherlands drive over three Americas teams to make compound men’s final

The compound men’s team eliminations worked just like brackets should work – with the top two seeds making the gold medal final.

Ranked number two, Dutch archers Mike SCHLOESSER – current world outdoor champion – Peter ELZINGA and Ruben BLEYENDAAL started with a 237/240 in their first match, before edging past Brazil then Mexico by one and two points respectively.

The team attributes the success to commitment and sacrifice. “You’ve got to set a lot of things aside,” they agree. “Like parties, for example! No time for that kind of thing.”

“You push yourself harder each shoot – get better, do better – and that progress is really important for all of us,” said the most experienced of the team, ELZINGA.

Central to their ethos as a functioning team on the shooting line is the focus on being in the moment. They refuse to predict scenarios, outcomes, or think about the next moment.

“Another day, another shoot.” What a fantastic mindset – which they’ll need against the USA tomorrow morning.

It’ll be a one-two seed showdown in the recurve men’s final on Sunday, too. Korea will face India – a new-look Indian team, after the Shanghai squad failed to live up to expectations.

States archer Jake KAMINSKI lost to Korea in the semis, but was content: “We shot the best we ever have: 228, 228, 224 in cumulative totals.” The USA will shoot for bronze.

“I really want to see Jeremiah CUSICK do well,” said Jay LYON – whose Canadian team lost to the USA in the quarterfinals. “He’s a great guy and could really succeed on the international stage!”

See scores from the second stage of the 2014 Archery World Cup at Medellin 2014.