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Belgium’s Ruben Vanhollebeke breaks own visually impaired world record in Gwangju

26 September 2025

Gwangju, Korea

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Belgium’s Ruben Vanhollebeke broke his own visually impaired world record by seven points during qualifying at the Gwangju 2025 World Archery Para Championships.

Vanhollebeke shot a front half of 241 and a back half of 266 for a total of 507, leading a field of nine.

“This morning we left with a super good feeling. Everything went the way it should. I got more and more into my rhythm. Good rhythm, good equipment, a good coach – and everything comes together perfectly. As long as you keep believing in yourself!” he said.

The Belgian is chasing a third world title in VI1, after wins at ‘s-Hertogenbosch 2019 and Dubai 2022. He placed third in Pilsen in 2023. He will compete for gold with Christos Misos of Greece, a many-time silver medallist at world level who is searching for his first major title after a breakthrough on the European para circuit this year.

“Every final brings a different feeling, a different competition. I will do my very, very best to bring the gold medal home. It is fantastic for our discipline of archery to be able to receive so much publicity,” said Vanhollebeke.

In the VI2/3 category, where partially sighted athletes wear blindfolds, Nicholas Thomas of Great Britain topped the list with 592. He will shoot for gold against Vanhollebeke’s teammate, second seed Kathleen Meurrens of Belgium tomorrow.

Visually impaired athletes are split into two categories (VI1 and VI2/3) depending on the severity of their impairment; they shoot at 30 metres using tactile sights that touch the back of their hands to aim and are permitted an assistant to help load arrows and score.

Men and women compete together in each of the two visually impaired categories. Unlike the other three bowstyles contested at the para worlds, visually impaired archery is not yet on the programme of the Paralympic Games.

The day also saw team eliminations in recurve, compound and W1. (Team events at the para worlds are now all doubles competitions – there are no longer teams of three.)

The big drama was in the semifinals of the recurve women, where top seeds China were beaten 6-2 by host nation Korea, while second seeds Italy lost 6-2 to Mongolia.

Korea, who won only a single bronze medal at the last para worlds in Pilsen, also made a breakthrough in the W1 women’s doubles where they will shoot for gold against China.

China’s depth again stood out, with the nation reaching gold medal matches in recurve men’s, compound men’s and W1 men’s doubles. In total, China will contest six of the nine gold team finals this weekend – and they will also compete for bronze in the remaining three categories.

The competition continues with visually impaired and compound finals on Saturday.

You can watch the recurve, compound and W1 finals live from Gwangju with a subscription to archery+. The visually impaired finals will also be available at a later date.