When Nicolas Girard climbed to the top of the podium to become the new compound men’s World Archery Champion at Gwangju 2025, nobody could say they weren’t warned.
An exceptional run of results throughout the season had already made it clear that he posed a serious challenge to the dominance of Mathias Fullerton, Mike Schloesser and the rest of the world’s top contenders.
First came the European indoor champion. Then silver in Vegas – and almost, the big Vegas win itself.
Then gold in Antalya, his first Hyundai Archery World Cup outdoor stage medal since 2022. Starting as the 28th seed, he swept through the draw, beating top names including Rishabh Yadav and Michea Godano on his way to victory.
He followed that with bronze in Madrid, and came close to another podium in Chengdu.
At the Hyundai World Archery Championships in Korea, Girard qualified first, shooting a first half ahead of world record pace. But the title still had to be earned.
“The world final was pretty close,” said Girard. “Mathias is an incredibly skilled opponent. I gave 100% in this match because I knew he was capable of shooting a perfect game, scoring 150 out of 150, so I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.”
As so often happens in the biggest men’s finals, it came down to a single point – to who blinked first. In the end, Girard didn’t blink. He shot a perfect 150-149 win, with both archers clean through four ends before Fullerton landed a nine with his 13th arrow.
“The victory is a dream come true for me,” he said. “It gives me confidence and motivates me even more for the coming seasons.”
It was a stunning comeback after a couple of quieter outdoor seasons. Despite steady indoor success, Girard had not reached an outdoor podium since 2022.
“I changed my training rhythm and my training methods, and I surrounded myself with the right people – Morgan Bondon, Pierre-Julien Deloche and Sebastien Brasseur, who helped me enormously in my preparation,” he said.
“What did I change? I would say better planning and time management,” he grinned.
“The toughest moment in my career? Let’s just say that difficult times allowed me to learn.”
Girard’s world title inevitably invites comparisons with Sebastien Peineau, who became France’s first compound men’s world champion in 2017 in Mexico City – a landmark moment for French archery, coming almost two decades after Catherine Pellen won the women’s world title in Riom.
As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a champion – and France’s strength in compound archery has long reflected a collective effort.
Seb and I know each other well. I trained with him a lot over the years, and we see each other regularly at competitions,” said Nicolas.
“Like PJ [Deloche], they were people I looked up to when I was younger. I dreamed of becoming like them, as strong as them. They’re kind of my role models.”
Peineau was just as generous in his praise.
“I’m extremely happy for Nico. It’s amazing to have another world outdoor champion from France. Nico shoots amazingly – he deserves it so much!” said the 2017 champion.
“In my opinion his strongest part of his game is mental. He’s really strong and enjoys being under pressure from what I remember when we were shooting together. Of course he has a lot of other strong parts to his game. He’s really precise in shot execution and can be incredibly precise, as we all saw during the Antalya World Cup when the X-ring became an 11,” Peineau added.
Fullerton gained a measure of revenge at the Walbrzych-Ksiaz 2025 European Field Championships, defeating Girard en route to the field title that would make him world number one. Girard went on to win bronze, adding yet another podium to his growing list.
As he prepares for Saturday’s Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Nanjing, Girard might reflect on how close he came in Tlaxcala 2022, when he took silver after losing a thrilling match to Schloesser – dropping just a single point in the fourth end.
“It was an incredible match,” he said. “I didn’t think I could go that far in the final.”
Heading into Nanjing, the men’s compound looks set to be a three-way battle between Schloesser, Fullerton and Girard. As the third seed, the Frenchman could face both of them if he wants to lift another major trophy.
“The level of compound archery is so high that the slightest mistake can cost you the match,” he said. “But I feel good. I’ve prepared well.”
Perhaps another surprise is in store in Nanjing.
