Chasing 10 and LA28: Lopez returns with unfinished business

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT is presented by WIAWIS.

When Sara Lopez won her most recent World Cup gold medal in Puebla – a full 13 years after her first, at Antalya in 2013 – she said: “I feel like that 18-year-old girl who won her first World Cup.”

It has been a challenging year for the Colombian, following an obligatory 12-month layoff that saw her miss both the 2025 World Championships and the 2025 World Games.

A joyful life event – her marriage to fellow Puerto Rican archer Jean Pizarro Latorre – was followed by visa and immigration issues that took time to resolve.

Lopez described it as “an obligatory pause” in her career, using the time to find new hobbies and rest after years on the circuit. Having shot since she was 13 and been on the national team since 18, she said she needed space to adjust to her new life, home and routines.

“It was hard. I got depression. I cried a lot. But at the end of the day, I think it was worth it because I feel stronger than I used to.”

She knew her return in Puebla would be a test. After strong practice sessions, qualification felt like a disappointment by her own high standards. She shot 696 for third place, behind Mexico’s Dafne Quintero on 697 and longtime teammate Alejandra Usquiano on 698.

All three reached the final four, although Usquiano competed in the mixed team event for Colombia.

The 31-year-old admitted she had set high expectations in qualification but failed to account for the conditions on the field and arriving tired after nearly two days of travel. 

“I was really excited to be back, and everyone was watching me, so I let all of that get into my head and didn’t perform as I wanted.”

Despite the wind, she said she still felt capable of shooting 704 or 706, but acknowledged it was a lot to process after such a long break.

“I learned that day that I don’t have to beat myself up,” she said. “I have to talk to myself more positively. I know that I’m capable of great things – I just need to lower my expectations, do my job and enjoy competing again.”

In the end, both the semifinal against Quintero and the final against Lisell Jaatm proved classics, with Lopez surviving three shoot-offs on her way to gold.

As a return test after a long break, it was comprehensive.

The stage win qualifies her for yet another Archery World Cup Final. With nine victories, she is already the most successful winner in the event’s history.

But another final brings another milestone.

“Getting the tenth one? It’s a matter of time,” Lopez said, adding that she does not expect it to come in Saltillo, but is confident it will happen eventually.

Lopez said it could come this year, next year or even further down the line, but remained certain she will reach the milestone because she knows what she is capable of.

“The level is incredibly high right now,” she added. “In Puebla, Dafne and I both shot 149, and I won the shoot-off by a couple of millimetres. In compound women, we’re all capable of 148-plus scores. I’m proud to be part of this moment.”

The Colombian archer credits her experience for the mental strength required to succeed at the highest level.

Joining the team at a very young age meant she had to grow up quickly and become more mature.

“I never got to live like a normal adolescent, a normal childhood. I just had to grow up quickly and be strong mentally.”

“I was around big names like Erika Jones and Albina Loginova, who were amazing archers and incredibly strong mentally. So I got to learn from them.”

While she will miss the second stage in Shanghai, she will return later in a season where many archers from the Americas are targeting the Pan American Championships in Tlaxcala, alongside the Central American and Caribbean Games.

Both events offer qualification pathways to the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima – and ultimately to an even bigger goal: the LA28 Olympic Games.

It is a new objective for compound archers, and one Lopez has fully embraced.

She said her main focus is to qualify for the Olympic Games, when compound will be included for the first time, and to make her family proud.

Only 16 nations will compete in Los Angeles, and qualification will be tough, potentially requiring a mixed team victory in Lima.

“I have to work on my body, my mind and my mental health. But I feel ready for everything that’s going to happen in the next couple of years.”

“I know it’s going to be hard. The competition is getting stronger – and so am I. I know I’m capable of amazing things.”

The Colombian also highlighted the strength of her support team and her belief that, together, they can achieve the goal of reaching the Olympics.

“I just want to finish these next three years knowing I gave everything,” she said. “If I qualify, that’s amazing. If not, I still want to know that every sacrifice was worth it.”