Best of Winnipeg: Three who impressed us at the world youth championships

Like all youth championships, the Winnipeg 2025 World Archery Youth Championships were a celebration of potential. There were plenty of medals for familiar archery powerhouses such as Korea, Chinese Taipei, the USA and Mexico – many of them of high quality, and some, like Jang Joonha’s commanding under-21 recurve final, almost worthy of a senior-level spot.

There were also notable podium finishes for the Netherlands, New Zealand, Ukraine, and Spain, with New Zealand’s silver medal from Hector McNeilly becoming the country’s highest-ever placing at a World Archery Youth Championships.

Special mention goes to Germany, which captured the compound men’s titles in both under-18 and under-21, adding a silver in the under-21 team event. And there was that monumental upset on Friday, when the USA men defeated Korea – a matchup and result with echoes of classic Olympic duels.

3. Jai Crawley, Australia

Twenty-year-old Jai Crawley had been competing on the senior recurve circuit without making a huge impression, but he emerged as the standout star of a large Australian squad in Canada. He led the recurve men’s team, alongside Christopher Jackson and Marcus Yiu, to a bronze medal, defeating Japan, India and Bangladesh along the way.

He then made a storming run in the individual event, reaching the final four for the first time, before being stopped by eventual winner Jang. Crawley bounced back to win a real dogfight bronze medal match against the USA’s Joshua Baek.

“It was my first final four that I've ever made and it was nerve-wracking ,but you kind of got to just take it in. I was just trying to do the best that I can – and it paid off,” he said.

With Brisbane 2032 on the distant horizon, Jai delivered a major boost to Australian archery.

2. Alex Sillitoe-Price, Great Britain

A world medal at just 15 years old? It seemed out of nowhere – but it happened.

The youthful but ambitious Alex Sillitoe-Price hadn’t done much more than grabbing a handful of domestic medals and making a very minor dent in this year’s Veronica’s Cup before being selected for Winnipeg.

But he scythed through the under-18 field and ended up pushing out Korea’s Park Myungjae, two years his senior, in straight sets in a remarkable final of confident and aggressive shooting.

“I don’t actually know what I was feeling at the moment, but I got it, you know,” said Alex after the final against the second seed. “Hopefully we’ll keep winning and bringing it home.” 

Next goal? LA28, apparently. 

1. Savannah O’Donohue, USA 

Sixteen-year-old Savannah O’Donohue from Louisiana was the only compound archer to go unbeaten in the competition, taking three under-18 medals: team, mixed team and individual.

Her success wasn’t completely out of the blue – three years ago she won two medals at the 2022 Youth Pan Am Championships, also in Canada, and she took silver in the same championship two years ago in El Salvador.

But her performance in Winnipeg was extraordinarily composed, whether ranking first, leading out her team, or winning the mixed team event easily. Her dominant final against Prithika Pradeep of India belied her years.

“I just really wanted to come here and leave it all out on the stage,” she said after the final. “Usually it kind of sinks in when we go home, but I’m just really trying to live in the moment and treasure this.”

Not what you’d expect to hear from a 16-year-old? It seems likely we’ll see the ambitious O’Donohue competing at senior level for the USA soon.