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Brady Ellison roars to sixth World Cup Final victory in Nanjing

19 October 2025

Nanjing, China

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Brady Ellison bellowed his way back to coach Mel Nichols after securing his sixth Hyundai Archery World Cup Final title with victory over Marcus D’Almeida in the recurve men’s gold medal match in Nanjing.

It was a rematch of the world’s top two recurve men – just as it had been 11 years ago at Lausanne 2014 – and once again, Ellison emerged victorious. This time, though, the scoreline was 6-4, not a shoot-off.

Leading 4-2 after four sets, and with D’Almeida dropping a 28, the American great needed at least the same to clinch it – and did exactly that, landing a nine, an X10 and another nine, his final arrow sitting just above the 10-ring.

His roar of celebration said it all – joy, relief and pride at being back on top of the sport’s premier international circuit.

“I didn’t have any expectations coming in,” said Ellison. “I just wanted to stick to my game plan and keep the timing I had today, and it was good enough. I actually felt like I shot very well, and my semifinal match against Mete [Gazoz] was one of the best I’ve had in years.”

“I hit the 10s when I needed 10s to tie or win sets. For the most part, I did that all day. When you’re tying sets and never really losing ground, it puts you in good positions.”

“I’ve really felt good this back half of the year.”

As well as the best, Ellison, 36, was the oldest on stage today at the Nanjing Olympic Museum.

At 36, Ellison was the oldest archer on stage at the Nanjing Olympic Museum, where his semifinal rivals included Thomas Chirault (28), D’Almeida (27) and Gazoz (26). Yet even in the twilight of his career, the Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist showed that while form is temporary, class is permanent.

Brady Ellison celebrating with the Nanjing Eye Bridge in the background.

His enjoyment of the sport remains strong, too – demonstrated by a humorous moment during his semifinal against Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion Gazoz.

After opening the match with a perfect 30 and repeating the feat in the second end, Gazoz matched him arrow for arrow, two of them in the X-ring. Instead of heading straight to his coaching box, Ellison walked over to his Turkish opponent for a high five – a moment of mutual respect between two world-class athletes.

“All of us just came back from the Archery Premier League,” Ellison explained. “We got to hang out and spend a lot of time in India together, where we normally wouldn’t at the World Cups.”

“It kind of created more of a friendship with those guys. It’s cold, raining and windy, and we just shot 30-30 – the first one of the day. I felt we needed to celebrate.”

Brazil’s D’Almeida was also smiling after collecting his third consecutive silver medal in major events this month, following the Gwangju 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships and the San Cristobal 2025 Pan American Field Championships – the latter entered specifically to help him reach the top of the world rankings.

The past six months, which also included golds at the South American Open Championships and the Athird stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup in Antalya, have left him confident about his place among the elite.

“I think I’m the best this year because I got gold in the stage, silver here, silver in the world championships,” said D’Almeida. “So I think I’m the best for this year for my consistency.”

Sunday’s matches brought the 2025 Hyundai Archery World Cup season to a close, with the 2026 edition set to open in April in Puebla, Mexico.