Bauer, Unruh put Germany top of recurve qualifying in Lilleshall

Germany swept recurve qualifying at the European Grand Prix today in Great Britain, collecting top seeds in five events – men’s and women’s individual and team, and mixed team.

World number one Katharina Bauer was the top-scoring recurve woman over the 72-arrow 70-metre round, finishing nine up on Spain’s Elia Canales with 655 out of the possible 720 points, while reigning World Games Champion Florian Unruh led the recurve men on 680.

“I’m really happy with my score and my shooting,” said Unruh. There was a consistent breeze throughout the afternoon, blowing right to left. “It was a little bit windy, but I think it’s very good weather for here.”

Olympic Champion Mete Gazoz, who won the Spring Arrows in Antalya last week, seeded second after scoring 673, tied on points but with one more 10 than Unruh’s teammate Mathias Kramer. The fourth spot went to another German, Moritz Wieser, to put the team 40 points clear of Türkiye atop the leaderboard.

Neither team has a full quota for the European Games.

With squads from 19 countries vying for the two available tickets in Lilleshall, the high qualifying positions could prove vital.

Bauer’s women’s team does have a full quota. And her field-leading score marks something of a triumphant return to the competition field. She’s been recovering from an injury that forced her to miss the recent Bundesliga final.

“I had a break of seven weeks,” she said. “First place gives me self-confidence.”

“It is my first competition back with the national team so I’m really happy with how I handled today. Tomorrow is a new day and I have to keep my focus,” she added.

France enters the recurve women’s team quota tournament for the European Games as the top seed, ahead of Ukraine.

Host country Great Britain, fifth overall qualifier and third in the qualifier, is also in search of a ticket.

The dominance of the German recurves during today’s qualifying round cannot be understated. Four of the top seven recurve men’s and women’s scores and were shot by archers from Germany, with Elina Idensen securing 10th in the women’s event on top of that.

Not only did Bauer and Unruh lead their fields, but nine of the 11 German archers competing seeded in the top 10.

Competition continues at the European Grand Prix with recurve team eliminations followed by compound qualifying on Tuesday in Lilleshall. 

Top recurve seeds: Lilleshall 2023

• Recurve men: Florian Unruh, Germany – 680
• Recurve women: Katharina Bauer, Germany – 655