Young Berkay Akkoyun hits new qualification personal best at 2026 Spring Arrows

Berkay Akkoyun produced a standout performance in qualification at the European Grand Prix Spring Arrows  – as he did last year – to take top seed in the recurve men’s category.

The Lilleshall 2022 European youth champion posted an international personal best of 681, an impressive six points more than teammate and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion Mete Gazoz in Antalya.

As is often the case, a light breeze throughout the day in the southern Turkish city tested athletes from the start, leaving little chance of any recurve archers reaching the 700 mark.

Consistency was therefore even more critical in less-than-perfect conditions – and Akkoyun delivered it best across the 89-strong field. He opened with 339 for the first 36 arrows and followed with 342 in the second half, despite Germany’s Jonathan Vetter (666) recording three more Xs – the inner 10s used to break ties in qualification – and Hungary’s Matyas Laszlo Balogh (670) hitting four more 10s across the day.

Still only 20, Akkoyun’s performance suggests he is in arguably the best form of his career, coming off his maiden Hyundai Archery World Cup medal, where he, Gazoz and Berkim Tumer took silver in the men’s team event in Puebla.

He held the same position last year at Spring Arrows – with a then-personal best of 679 – but exited the individual event in the semifinals to Arsalan Baldanov before losing the bronze medal match to Mathias Kramer, both in 6-0 defeats.

Having come close to an individual medal on the international stage, Akkoyun will be eager to capitalise on this opportunity as top seed – especially with the top eight archers advancing directly to the fourth round.

In the recurve women’s event, 2023 World Archery Champion Marie Horackova – who missed both the Vegas Shoot and Puebla – returned to international competition in style, securing top seed with a strong 674.

It was a score that would have been competitive in the men’s field, too, with only three recurve men surpassing her total on the day – Akkoyun, Gazoz and Tumer (both 675).

With the top seeds now decided, attention turns to eliminations and team events on Thursday, beginning with team elimination and bronze medal matches in the morning, before the compound final fours are decided in the afternoon.