Preview: 500-plus archers at world youth championships in Wroclaw

The Olympics is barely over, but international archery returns, with the best youth archers from across the globe descending on the Polish city of Wroclaw to compete for world titles in the under-21 and under-18 age groups.

These championships were initially scheduled to take place in Australia, but they were relocated due to the pandemic.

Despite the fact that historically competitive countries like Korea and Chinese Taipei have opted to continue with the policy of skipping this year’s internationals, more than 500 archers from nearly 60 countries are registered to participate. And it’s something of a star-studded cast.

Valentina Vazquez, the reigning Pan American Champion (whose picture headers this article) is on the list, as is returning under-18 world champion Komalika Bari, who will shoot in the under-21 age group here in Poland and also lead the Indian senior squad at the Hyundai World Archery Championships later this year.

Eight individual, four mixed team and eight team titles are up for grabs in Wroclaw.

Key information

What’s happening? The 2021 World Archery Youth Championships on 9-15 August in Wroclaw, Poland.

What’s at stake? World titles in the under-21 (junior) and under-18 (cadet) age groups.

What’s the story? Experience counts – but so does talent. Plenty of the talented archers at the Olympics just finished in Tokyo, such as Kim Je Deok, shot at the last edition of this event in Madrid in 2019. With Paris just three years away, these championships are a glimpse into the future of elite archery competition.

Event schedule

• Tuesday 10 August: Qualification
• Wednesday 11 August: Early eliminations 
• Thursday 12 August: Eliminations 
• Friday 13 August: Team eliminations
• Saturday 14 August: Compound finals
• Sunday 15 August: Recurve finals 

How to watch

World Archery is streaming all four medal sessions live on its YouTube channel.

• Live: Compound under-18 finals – 14 August 10h00 UTC+2
• Live: Compound under-21 finals – 14 August 15h00 UTC+2
• Live: Recurve under-18 finals – 15 August 10h00 UTC+2
• Live: Recurve under-21 finals – 15 August 15h00 UTC+2

Live scores will be available on the World Archery website, and there will be coverage on World Archery’s digital platforms throughout the competition.

Junior… veterans?

Archery is ageless. Athletes can compete into their later years – but also, often, start young.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen some exceptional young athletes perform on the world’s biggest stage. Two years ago in Madrid, Anders Faugstad delivered a perfect 150-point final to win the under-21 world title just a few weeks after finishing runner-up at the senior world championships.

The two events have swapped orders in the calendar in 2021. But archers like Yun Sanchez, Mathias Fullerton and Amanda Mlinaric have a proven track record on the senior circuit. How will they fare against their peers?

Olympians

Seven archers have travelled straight to Poland from Tokyo.

The US Virgin Island’s Nicholas D’Amour – who is also at number five in the recurve men’s senior world rankings – Romania’s Madalina Amaistroaie, Germany’s Charline Schwarz, Great Britain’s James Woodgate, Slovakia’s Denisa Barankova, Spain’s Ines de Velasco and Casey Kaufhold of the USA are all shooting at these championships, having just made their Olympic debuts in Japan.

The champions

These are the reigning under-21 (junior) world champions from Madrid 2019:

• Recurve men: Kim Hyeonjong, Korea
• Recurve women: Valentina Acosta, Colombia
• Compound men: Anders Faugstad, Norway
• Compound women: Amanda Mlinaric, Croatia (returning)

These are the reigning under-18 (cadet) world champions from Madrid 2019:

• Recurve men: Tai Yu-Hsuan, Chinese Taipei
• Recurve women: Komalika Bari, India (returning as under-21)
• Compound men: Sebastian Garcia, Mexico (returning as under-21)
• Compound women: Arina Cherkezova, Russia (returning)

Who’s competing?

These are the archers currently highest in the adult world rankings. 

• Recurve men: Nicholas D’Amour, US Virgin Islands (world rank: 5)
• Recurve women: Elia Canales, Spain (world rank: 16)
• Compound men: Mathias Fullerton, Denmark (world rank: 7)
• Compound women: Amanda Mlinaric, Croatia (world rank: 19)

A total of 537 archers from the national teams of the following 58 countries are registered for these championships: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong China, Hungary, India, Iran, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, US Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.

Competition in Wroclaw starts with qualifying on Tuesday.