USA and Sullivan win compound team double in Yecheon

USA completed a compound team double in Yecheon 2024, winning gold in both men’s and mixed team in addition to the women’s team bronze they picked up midweek.

Sawyer Sullivan, one of the youngest members of team USA at 20, will be particularly pleased having been involved in both victories against Türkiye and India as well as securing the men’s individual in the afternoon. 

Having also won mixed team gold in the Berlin 2023 Hyundai World Archery Championships, albeit with Alexis Ruiz not today’s teammate Olivia Dean, the 2023 Pan American Games silver medallist said he felt the nerves but could control them.

“Chris Webster (head coach) says you just have to ‘ride the lightning’ and I’ve lived by that. ‘You just must ride the nerves and do the best you can.’”

“I have good teammates, and strong bonds with my teammates so it’s super easy to shoot well when I’m shooting with them,” Sullivan added.

Fellow gold medallist Kris Schaff, who was also a part of the men’s team that lost to the Netherlands in the Shanghai quarterfinals, emphasised the importance of the group’s camaraderie in Korea, especially with supporting the visibly frustrated James Lutz who had pin problems throughout the morning session.

“When you’re at the top of the game like he is, he knows what’s going on,” said Schaff. “He just had four or five arrows shoot low on him, but it was a good thing Sawyer and I were picking him up out there.”

The Indian compound women’s trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur and Aditi Gopichand Swami grabbed their third successive World Cup gold medal – after Paris 2023 and Shanghai last month.

Vennam’s blistering form continued as she won consecutive stage golds.

It was her fourth gold medal on the international circuit so far in 2024 – out of a possible six – having been unable to complete the gold treble this week like in Shanghai.

The Asian Games Champion, who also won silver in the mixed team with Priyansh, however explained why she was so satisfied with her performance.

“I just wanted to shoot my best, follow my shooting process rather than focusing on the external factors and I managed to do what I wanted to,” said the 27-year-old.

“We are really happy with the performances of our team, and we want to continue it further.”

Vennam along with Kaur and Swami defeated Türkiye in the final in what was the second time this year (Shanghai) Begum Yuva, Ayse Bera Suzer and Hazal Burun had lost to the ruthless India.

The first gold medal match of the day was played in gusty conditions which didn’t help Suzer and her Essen 2024 European Archery Championships winning teammates.

“I think the only difference between us, and India today is that we didn’t adapt to the weather condition,” explained the 28-year-old.

“I was having to hold my bow a long time, usually it doesn’t take me long to pick up the bow. My hands were sweaty, and it slipped through my hands.”

Competition in Yecheon continues with recurve finals day on Sunday. Watch coverage with a subscription to archery+.

Podiums: Yecheon 2024

Full results on the event page.

Compound men’s team

1. USA (James Lutz, Kris Schaff, Sawyer Sullivan)
2. Türkiye (Batuhan Akcaoglu, Emircan Haney, Yagiz Sezgin)
3. Australia (Brandon Hawes, Jonathon Milne, Bailey Wildman)

Compound women’s team

1. India (Parneet Kaur, Aditi Gopichand Swami, Jyothi Surekha Vennam)
2. Türkiye (Hazal Burun, Ayse Bera Suzer, Begum Yuva)
3. USA (Olivia Dean, Carson Krahe, Alexis Ruiz)

Compound  mixed team

1. USA (Olivia Dean, Sawyer Sullivan)
2. India (Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Priyansh)
3. Colombia (Sara Lopez, Pablo Gomez Zuluaga)

Watch coverage from Shanghai with a subscription to archery+.