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Lutz and Ruiz secure second finals appearance at Shanghai 2026

7 May 2026

Shanghai, China

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James Lutz and Alexis Ruiz smiling at their winning targets at Shanghai 2026.

James Lutz and Alexis Ruiz continued their strong form at the second stage of the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Shanghai as the pair booked a place in the compound mixed team gold medal match.

The USA pair edged Estonian siblings Lisell and Robin Jaatma 158-157 at Yuanshen Sports Centre, where conditions were noticeably cooler than during the morning session, although the unpredictable wind remained.

Ruiz is enjoying a particularly strong week after securing the first World Cup top seed of her career during Tuesday’s qualification round. Lutz, meanwhile, arrived in Shanghai fresh off his record-breaking 719 at the 2026 Easton Foundations Gator Cup.

Both have now reached two finals in Shanghai in their first international mixed team appearance together.

“Alexis and I have been number one in the States for like five years and we’ve never shot together,” said Lutz, who could still make it three finals from three events should he progress through Friday’s individual eliminations.

Lutz added that adapting to the wind inside Yuanshen Sports Centre had been easier than expected on his first appearance in China.

“I’m feeling good going into the matches.”

In a semifinal decided by a single point, the margins were predictably fine. The Jaatmas – guided by their mother and coach Maarika – pushed USA throughout, but the sheer individual quality of Lutz and Ruiz proved decisive.

Lutz and Ruiz have been USA’s leading compound archers in their respective categories for much of the past five years but, remarkably, had never previously won an international mixed team medal together.

The only previous mixed team medals of Lutz’s career came at Medellin 2022 with Linda Ochoa-Anderson and at the Santiago 2022 Pan American Championships alongside Paige Pearce.

James Lutz shooting against Lisell Jaatma during the compound mixed team semifinal at Shanghai 2026.

Ruiz, meanwhile, already owns mixed team gold medals from the Berlin 2023 Hyundai World Archery Championships and the 2024 Pan American Championships, in addition to winning the discipline at Moscow 2019 when mixed team was still contested at the circuit finale.

This year’s Vegas Shoot runner-up was outstanding once again, not dropping a single arrow out of the 10-ring and shooting only three arrows outside the X-ring – the central zone within the 10-ring used to break ties in qualification – across all three matches.

Lutz was quick to acknowledge it.

“I knew coming into it that she was going to have my back and I was going to have hers, and she definitely came through today,” added Lutz, who is competing in Shanghai for the first time despite seven years on the World Cup circuit.

Lutz admitted the wind inside Yuanshen Sports Centre had been less difficult than expected.

“I find myself overthinking the wind when I don’t need to,” he said. “Really, all week, if I just put the pin in the middle, it’s going to hit there. When I try aiming for the wind, that’s when I’ve been missing.”

Both archers will now be part of a much larger compound showdown against Türkiye during Saturday’s finals.

Hazal Burun and Emircan Haney also reached their respective team finals, meaning Saturday morning will feature a USA versusTürkiye triple-header for gold.

Competition continues at Yuanshen Sports Centre tomorrow with compound and recurve individual eliminations in the morning.