Mete on cusp of history with major triple available at Europeans

Mete Gazoz has made the recurve men’s final at the European Championships and, this Sunday, will have the opportunity to become the first archer in history to hold three major titles concurrently.

Nobody has ever been Olympic Champion, World Archery Champion and European Champion at the same time.

“I like major competitions,” he said after beating emerging French talent Baptiste Addis in the semifinals this morning in Essen. “We are just preparing for major competitions. I can show my peak level. And I did that very well.” 

That last match against Addis was the only one to extend past three sets.

The 24-year-old shot six perfect 30s and averaged 29 points for three arrows through the bracket, demolishing Dutch archers Steve Wijler and Gijs Broeksma on his route to the final.

“Nobody can do that [in the past], world, Olympics and Europeans. But, you know, I love to be the first guy,” said Mete. “I want to be the first guy.”

Mete’s record in Germany is phenomenal. He’s won the last three top-tier tournaments held in the country – the Hyundai Archery World Cup stages in 2018 and 2019 and the Hyundai World Archery Championships in 2023 – and enters this weekend a heavy favourite to extend the run.

Mete’s opponent in the final is 36th-seeded Slovenian archer Den Habjan, who is on something of a revenge campaign after losing to teammate Ziga Ravnikar in the quarterfinals of the Olympic qualifier on Monday.

The guaranteed silver medal is already the biggest achievement of Habjan’s career.

Taking the top step of the podium would be huge – but it will be very difficult.

Because for Mete, this is yet another major result in a run that is quickly becoming historic – and at a time when the domestic spotlight in Türkiye steadily focuses on one of the country’s returning champions from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“Actually, I don’t feel the pressure,” he said. “I’ve learned to control it. Some girls and boys start archery and come to me to say, ‘Mete, I started archery because of you’. It makes me happy.”

In this sport, confidence is key. It’s safe to say that Mete has it in abundant supply.

“I love Germany. I love windy weather. I feel more relaxed in Germany. All the times I see a competition in Germany, I say, ‘I’m going to win this competition’.”

Other archers featuring in the individual finals include the home nation’s Katharina Bauer, reigning Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion Mathias Fullerton and compound women’s world number one Ella Gibson.

Competition at the European Championships continues with team eliminations on Friday afternoon. Watch finals this weekend with a subscription to archery+. Recurve Sunday is also streaming free on ZDF within Germany.

Finals: 2024 Europeans

Full results on the event page.

Recurve men

• Gold medal match: Mete Gazoz (Türkiye) versus Den Habjan (Slovenia)
• Bronze medal match: Jean-Charles Valladont (France) versus Baptiste Addis (France)

Recurve women

• Gold medal match: Katharina Bauer (Germany) versus Elia Canales (Spain)
• Bronze medal match: Lisa Barbelin (France) versus Tatiana Andreoli (Italy)

Compound men

• Gold medal match: Mathias Fullerton (Denmark) versus Shamai Yamrom (Israel)
• Bronze medal match: Mike Schloesser (Netherlands) versus Emircan Haney (Türkiye)

Compound women

• Gold medal match: Ella Gibson (Great Britain) versus Elisa Roner (Italy)
• Bronze medal match: Hazal Burun (Türkiye) versus Mariya Shkolna (Luxembourg)