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Preview: Para Europeans feature first visually impaired competition since Gwangju 2025

26 April 2026

Rome, Italy

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Europe’s top para archers are heading to Italy for the 2026 European Para Archery Championships in Rome. First held in 2006, the event returns with a visually impaired competition – the first major in the discipline since the Gwangju 2025 World Archery Para Championships in September.

At those worlds, Cyprus’s Christos Misos beat Belgium’s Ruben Vanhollebeke for the VI1 title, while Great Britain’s Nicholas Thomas defeated Belgium’s Kathleen Meurrens for VI2/3 gold. All four return in Rome, with Vanhollebeke chasing a third European title after wins in 2024 and 2022. Can he make it a hat-trick?

Other leading names competing include Elisabetta Mijno, Tereza Brandtlova, David Drahoninsky, Guillaume Toucoullet, Jessica Stretton, Oznur Cure Girdi, Stefano Travisani and Ziva Lavrinc. World number one Mijno has won this title four times and will be targeting a fifth after a disappointing Gwangju.

Rome is a familiar stop on the para circuit. This is the third time the championships have been held in the city, following previous editions in 2024 and 2022, and it also hosted the first leg of the 2025 European Para Archery Cup.

Finals will take place at the historic Nando Martellini Stadium, next to the Colosseum, providing a central and striking backdrop for the sport.

Key information

What’s happening? The European Para Archery Championships, held for the third time in Rome, Italy – the city built on seven hills and a familiar destination for para archery.

What’s at stake? European titles across recurve, compound, W1 and visually impaired categories.

Who’s competing? A total of 129 competitors representing 26 nations.

What’s the story? Italian pride arguably took a battering last year in Gwangju, with just a single title for Stefano Travisani in recurve men. A full-strength Italian team will be targeting more than one gold medal on home soil.