The Tlaxcala 2026 Pan American Championships are almost here and we have picked out five archers to keep an eye on this week – standout challengers in a strong field in Mexico.
All four defending champions also return: Matias Grande, Casey Kaufhold, Sebastian Garcia Flores and Alexis Ruiz. Each has enjoyed an impressive journey since claiming continental titles at the 2024 Pan American Championships in Medellin.
With the first arrows about to fly in Tlaxcala, here are five more names to watch.
Ana Paula Vasquez
Who are they? A 25-year-old recurve archer from Mexico and Paris 2024 Olympic team bronze medallist.
What’s the story? After overcoming a career-threatening shoulder injury, she rebuilt her technique and confidence to reach the highest world ranking of her career.
Over the past three years, Ana Paula Vazquez has written one of archery’s most remarkable comeback stories. Sidelined for much of 2023 following shoulder surgery that threatened to end her career, the Mexican rebuilt her shot from the ground up. She recovered spectacularly to stand on the Olympic podium alongside Alejandra Valencia and Angela Ruiz after Mexico won recurve women’s team bronze in Paris – one of World Archery’s five outstanding performances from the Games.
The period after Paris tested her resilience as she missed out on selection for the Mexican team in 2025 amid lingering doubts about her form. However, Vazquez roared back onto the international circuit in 2026 and, in Antalya, claimed her first individual Hyundai Archery World Cup medal, lifting her to a career-high world ranking.
What’s the goal? To capitalise on her outstanding form and claim a continental title on home soil.
Vital statistics:
- Age: 25
- World ranking: 6
- Best result: Olympic team bronze at Paris 2024.
- Instagram: @anapau_vazquez
Marcus D'Almeida
Who are they? A recurve archer from Brazil, world number one, three-time Olympian and his country’s most decorated archer.
What’s the story? A former champion at this event, Tlaxcala is exactly the sort of stage on which he thrives.
After years of near misses, Marcus D’Almeida finally delivered a historic campaign in 2023, spending 11 months as world number one, winning individual bronze at the Berlin 2023 Hyundai World Archery Championships and ending the season by lifting the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final trophy in Hermosillo. The performances earned him World Archery’s best athlete of the year award and set the stage for his third Olympic appearance in Paris.
In 2025, he won the South American Championships and took individual gold in Antalya with a dominant 6-0 victory. Now 28 and an increasingly calm and clinical competitor, he arrives in Tlaxcala as the favourite – although defending champion Matias Grande may have something to say about that.
With more than a decade of international experience behind him, D’Almeida is a very different proposition in the recurve men’s field.
What’s the goal? To reinforce his status as the Americas’ leading recurve man.
Vital statistics:
- Age: 28
- World ranking: 1
- Best result: Hyundai Archery World Cup Final Champion in 2023.
- Instagram: @marcusdalmeida
Alejandra Usquiano
Who are they? A 33-year-old compound archer from Colombia and Gwangju 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships individual bronze medallist.
What’s the story? The Colombian is enjoying one of the finest spells of her career.
Usquiano has firmly re-established herself as a premier force in the compound women’s field over the last three years. The veteran put together a blazing 2025 campaign with individual gold on home turf at the Medellin 2025 South American Open Championships before narrowly missing the podium with a hard-fought fourth-place finish at the Chengdu 2025 World Games. However, she bounced right back in September with an individual bronze medal in Gwangju.
Usquiano has firmly re-established herself as one of the leading compound women in the world over the past three seasons. She enjoyed an outstanding 2025 campaign, winning individual gold on home soil at the Medellin 2025 South American Open Championships before narrowly missing the podium with fourth place at the Chengdu 2025 World Games. She bounced back later in the year with individual bronze at the world championships in Gwangju.
That momentum has continued into 2026 with back-to-back Indoor World Series victories in Rio and Nimes. Back outdoors, the 33-year-old produced a career-best qualification performance in Puebla, topping the field despite difficult conditions.
What’s the goal? To continue her career-best form against a tough field led by Andrea Becerra and Alexis Ruiz.
Vital statistics:
- Age: 33
- World ranking: 4
- Best result: Hyundai World Cup Final Champion in 2013.
- Instagram: @alejau12
Catalina Gnoriega
Who are they? A 23-year-old recurve archer from the USA, Olympian and Pan American Games team gold medallist.
What’s the story? Catalina Gnoriega began archery using rubber bands and PVC pipes because her local club lacked beginner bows. She served as the alternate at Tokyo 2020 before realising her Olympic dream in Paris alongside Casey Kaufhold and Jennifer Mucino.
Her breakthrough came in 2025 in Antalya, when she helped the USA win recurve women’s team gold on the Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit for the first time in a decade. Most of her biggest international successes have come in team competition, including at the 2023 Pan American Games and 2024 Pan American Championships.
But she also made significant progress individually, recording multiple top-10 Hyundai Archery World Cup finishes, winning two national tournaments and opening 2026 with silver at The Vegas Shoot. Can she now transfer that form to the outdoor international podium?
What’s the goal? To add another continental medal while building momentum towards her home LA28 Olympic Games.
Vital statistics:
- Age: 23
- World ranking: 16
- Best result: Hyundai Archery World Cup and Pan American Games team gold medallist.
- Instagram: @catalina.gn
Sofia Paiz
Who are they? Compound archer from El Salvador and Gwangju 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships individual silver medallist.
What’s the story? Originally from Guatemala, Sofia Paiz began representing El Salvador in 2022 and has since reached new heights on the international stage.
Her biggest achievement came at the Hyundai World Archery Championships in Gwangju, where she battled her way to the compound women’s final before falling to Andrea Becerra in torrential rain. The silver medal nevertheless marked a landmark achievement for both her career and her adopted nation.
She also arrives in strong form after the San Salvador 2026 Grand Prix of the Americas, where she won individual bronze and two team gold medals. Expect the El Salvador squads to be among the contenders once again.
What’s the goal? To reach another major podium and build on the momentum from her world championships breakthrough.
Vital statistics:
- Age: 29
- World ranking: 16
- Best result: A silver medal at the Hyundai World Archery Championships.
- Instagram: @sofia_paiz
Madrid 2026: Five archers to watch
