Preview: Limerick hosts 18th World Archery Youth Championships

International archery’s pinnacle biennial event for aspiring young athletes is just around the corner. The World Archery Youth Championships will take place at the University of Limerick in the west of Ireland on 3-9 July 2023.

All four of the reigning under-18 champions – Iban Bariteaud, Caroline Lopez, Brenk Aljaz Matija and Selene Rodriguez – return two years on, this time competing in the under-21 age group.

But it’s probably the youngest athletes that provide the most intrigue.

The compound under-18 women’s category features two archers that impressed at the most recent stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup – in Indian top qualifier Aditi Gopichand Swami, 17, and the circuit’s youngest-ever stage winner, Liko Arreola, who’s only 15.

Among the other big names competing in Limerick are recurve women’s world number one Penny Healey, who just won the European Games and one of the first Olympic quota places for Great Britain, as well as two archers who made the final fours at the last senior world championships, Casey Kaufhold and Mathias Fullerton – who are both competing in their last youth worlds.

Four individual, two mixed team and four team world titles in each of the under-21 and under-18 age groups are on the line in Ireland.

Key information

What’s happening? The 18th edition of the World Archery Youth Championships on 3-9 July 2023 in Limerick, Ireland.

What’s at stake? A total of 20 world titles in the under-21 and under-18 age groups.

Who’s competing? 518 archers from 58 countries.

What’s the story? Young archers have stolen the spotlight on the senior circuit of late, with the USA’s Liko Arreola becoming the youngest-ever Hyundai Archery World Cup stage winner in Medellin at 15 years old. It’s the last chance saloon for some close to ageing out – but have they already missed their chance at a youth world title, with such promise emerging from their even younger peers?

Event schedule

• Tuesday 4 July: Qualification
• Wednesday 5 July: Mixed team finals
• Thursday 6 July: Compound team finals
• Friday 7 July: Recurve team finals
• Saturday 8 July: Compound finals
• Sunday 9 July: Recurve finals

How to watch

World Archery is streaming all five medal sessions live on its YouTube channel and coverage will also be carried on the Olympic Channel.

• Live: Mixed team finals – 5 July 14h00 UTC
• Live: Compound team finals – 6 July 14h00 UTC
• Live: Recurve team finals – 7 July 14h00 UTC
• Live: Compound finals – 8 July 15h00 UTC
• Live: Compound finals – 9 July 15h00 UTC

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

India rerun?

The Indian team dominated the competition at the World Archery Youth Championships of two years ago, securing 15 total podiums – including eight golds – to lead the medal table.

Among the winners was Komalika Bari, who won the under-21 world title two years after securing the under-18 crown in Madrid. Another name on the Indian team two years ago – Prathamesh Jawkar, who won the Shanghai stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup two months ago. A strong youth team now delivering senior results two years on.

More medals for India in Limerick would be a good sign of success to come.

World number one

British 18-year-old Penny Healey is back up to number one in the world rankings, days after taking down the European Games gold and winning her country an early Olympic quota place for Paris 2024. Two massive titles in two weeks might be too much to ask…

…but Healey is on a roll. And has to be considered a contender at both events – youth and senior – in this championship run.

The champions

These are the reigning under-21 world champions from Wroclaw 2021, not of whom are competing in Limerick as they have all aged out of the event:

• Recurve men: Aoshima Tetsuya, Japan
• Recurve women: Komalika Bari, India
• Compound men: Robin Jaatma, Estonia
• Compound women: Amanda Mlinaric, Croatia

These are the reigning under-18 world champions from Wroclaw 2021:

• Recurve men: Iban Bariteaud, France (returning as under-21)
• Recurve women: Caroline Lopez, France (returning as under-21)
• Compound men: Brenk Aljaz, Slovenia (returning as under-21)
• Compound women: Selene Rodriguez, Mexico (returning as under-21)

Who’s competing?

These are the archers currently highest in the senior world rankings:

• Recurve men: Abdullah Yildirmis, Türkiye (world rank: 59)
• Recurve women: Penny Healey, Great Britain (world rank: 1)
• Compound men: Mathias Fullerton, Denmark (world rank: 9)
• Compound women: Pragati, India (world rank: 17)

A total of 518 archers (277 men, 241 women) from the national teams of the following 58 countries are registered for these championships: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Great Britain, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong China, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States of America and Zimbabwe.

Competition in Limerick starts with qualifying on Tuesday.