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Schloesser claims 10th World Cup individual stage gold at Antalya 2026

13 June 2026

Antalya, Türkiye

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Mike Schloesser raising his fist and bow in the air after winning gold at Antalya 2026.

Mike Schloesser further cemented his rich history in Antalya as the Dutchman grabbed his 10th individual World Cup stage gold at Antalya 2026 - the third stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup.

The city has been a happy hunting ground for the Indoor World Series champion, having already won five golds there [four compound men individual, one men team] before arriving in Türkiye this week. And although he didn't live up to his namesake, ‘Mister Perfect’, under brewing overcast skies at the Gloria Sports Arena - where thunder was briefly heard - he still shot two 149s, just two arrows away from a perfect session.

Schloesser was heading towards a 150 against the compound men individual world number one Mathias Fullerton before dropping a low-left nine right at the end. Luckily, he found a closer 10 than the Dane in the resulting shoot-off.

It was his penultimate arrow that hit a nine against Mexico's Sebastian Garcia Flores, this time high, but the winner from Shanghai [stage two] had dropped two nines himself in earlier sets, and Schloesser made sure there would be no late drama on his watch as he landed his 14th shot in the 10-ring.

World Cup gold number 10, though, wasn't the first thing on his mind after victory.

“The only thing I thought about when I came here was that in 2013 I became World champion here,” said the Saltillo-bound athlete, who is aiming for his fifth Final trophy in September. “When I got on the plane I was thinking about that. Thirteen years ago I won gold, and my goal was to do it again here.”

“It's such a relief to manage that, but I put a bit too much pressure on myself, especially on some of those arrows, and I still have something to learn.”

“I'm very proud of the career that I've had so far.”

Schloesser was only 19 and as revealed in the Behind the Bow documentary - ‘Mr and Mrs Perfect’ - was a much different person than he is now.

Mike Schloesser and Sebastian Garcia Flores look on after Schloesser just releases a shot at Antalya 2026.

Like most teenagers competing at such a grand senior event, he had a shy, quiet, introverted character at the time, but he was certainly no deer in the headlights. He went on to win in Belek not as an archery newcomer, but as a phenom destined for the very top.

He has been at the very top for an awfully long time now, and even if Schloesser decided to hang up the bow tomorrow, his legacy would undoubtedly stand alongside the compound greats of old.

But as he reminded us all in the post-match interview, he is far from “finished”, still building that impressive résumé while continuing to develop as a person, a man and, more recently, a father, all amid his thrilling, globe-trotting archery career.

“I'm still working on building it and making it bigger, of course, but I'm still very proud of those 13 years,” he said when reflecting on himself since that magical gold in Belek. “That was kind of my first big World Archery win, and over 13 years I have had an amazing career I'm very proud of, and of course I want to do more and more.”

“I feel like I've been growing as a person as well. I'm helping out people and stuff like that. I really hope that I'm an inspiration to some archers and I hope that people know as well that they always can come to me for help.”

His knowledge of the compound bow is obviously something that aspiring and current elite archers would love to tap into, but as someone who has built friendships and relationships - in the case of his wife Gaby, a loving lifelong partnership - Schloesser is also a beacon to those looking to gain something more in the sport than medals and glory.

Compound competition in Antalya is now concluded, with recurve finals set for Sunday, beginning in the morning with the team gold medal matches.