Gibson books first big win of 2024 as Fullerton dominates Europeans

World number one Ella Gibson and young Dane Mathias Fullerton, the reigning Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion, took the compound titles at the 2024 European Archery Championships in Essen, Germany.

Gibson’s final – a dramatic tiebreak with Elisa Roner.

Mathias, meanwhile, dominated.

The 20-year-old dropped just four points through his five matches – and three of those went in a final that he was never in danger of losing.

“Coming into this week, I had a good feeling, and I kept on having it through the week,” he said after beating Shamai Yamrom, 147-144, in the compound men’s gold medal match. “And I shot really good in eliminations, and I feel like I did the best I could here on the stage.”

Only the fifth qualifier at these championships after shooting his lowest outdoor score since last summer’s worlds (707), Fullerton continues to display his best qualities in matchplay.

The decisive match? His semifinal with eventual bronze medallist and world number one Mike Schloesser.

Top seed Mister Perfect dropped a point in the third. Fullerton stayed clean – and advanced to the final, held today in an arena that seemed to overflow with Danish support thanks to Tore Bjarnarson’s larger-than-life performance in the stands. (Tore wasn’t shooting this event but he still made a mark.)

Fullerton currently sits number two in the world rankings behind Schloesser, who has held the top spot for a record consecutive time of nearly 1100 days.

Perhaps it’s time for Mike to look in his rearview mirror.

“I’m confident in my abilities and I think my number one goal… And it’s always been that, is to become world number one,” said Fullerton. “That’s all I’m aiming for right now.”

Schloesser has 354 ranking points, Fullerton 297.5.

Podium finishes for the Dane at both remaining stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup, in Yecheon in May and Antalya in June, could close the gap.

Gibson has a similar lead at the top of the compound women’s Sanlida World Archery Ranking list but can sit more comfortably after collecting this first major result of 2024 – and finally beating Elisa Roner in matchplay after five consecutive losses dating back to early 2023.

“Sometimes she wins, sometimes I win but recently it’s been a bit more her than me,” said Ella. The pair went to a tiebreak in the final.

Gibson shot a line-cutter 10 first and looked shocked when Roner flung her arrow far wider, a nine, to hand the win to the Brit.

“I really didn’t think it would be enough,” she said. “I came back and I was so frustrated and I was like, ‘no, not again’. I am obviously so happy with myself that I won, and I got over that bit of a hurdle.”

Hazal Burun beat Mariya Shkolna in the compound women’s bronze medal match.

Competition continues at the European Championships with recurve finals on Sunday.

Winners: 2024 Europeans

Full results on the event page.

• Compound men: Mathias Fullerton, Denmark
• Compound women: Ella Gibson, Great Britain
• Compound men team: Italy
• Compound women team: Türkiye
• Compound mixed team: Netherlands